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Plain Flavours
Appears in
By Hsiang Ju Lin and Tsuifeng Lin
Published 1957
Water may be substituted for chicken stock to make plain congee. The Cantonese embed sliced preserved eggs in congee, or stir slices of fresh fish into it. The heat of the gruel is sufficient to cook thin slices of chicken or fish. A little congee liquid may be added to sautéed vegetables to improve their flavour.
Quite apart from the artistic connotations of congee its popularity is really physiological. Anyone who has had to sit through three or four banquets in succession knows that the exalted appreciation of fine food can be traded for animal comfort. Lavish banquets satisfy the eyes, nose and palate, but starve the rest of the system. For the sake of the stomach and intestines eat congee.