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One of the most physically annoying things about aging is not the wrinkles & fine lines visibly showing–get on those anti-aging serums, stay out of the sun, use sunblock, moisturize daily, get ahold of some Asian genes, etc–but that agonizing pain in the back of your mandible. You know the pain I’m talking about, right? That jerk wisdom tooth who’s popping up to say, “hey gurl, sup?” & your response is, “BYE FELICIA, DISAPPEAR.” That pain. Yeahhhh, so since I can only pop so many pills of Motrin before I destroy my liver & overdose, all my food choices have been solely categorized under, “can I feed this to a baby?” and “cannot feed to baby.” Thank goodness for my random craving for cháo (also known as congee or rice porridge) a few weeks ago because it’s so easy to make & I can eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also, it falls under the, “10/10 can feed this to a baby.” I mean, it’s not exactly healthy to be exclusively eating it because rice is not going to fulfill the essential vitamin spectrum for a healthy body, but look, my mouth hurts to chew so I’m going to choose to slurp on rice porridge. That’s where the versatility comes into play though! Dressing up porridge with your favorite ingredients will help you get over the general boringness that is porridge.
Savory Rice Porridge
Whether you’re eating this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you can add what you like to make porridge less boring. I figured I eat most of my Vietnamese dishes with rice anyway, so adding it to cháo is not that much different, just soupier. I was served cháo a lot when I got sick as a kid, but I always added Maggi or soy sauce to it because it was so plain. Likewise, when you eat your porridge in the morning, add an egg to it! For lunch or dinner, add some more protein like tofu, mushrooms, or your choice of meat. Garnish with cilantro, scallions, fried shallots, etc. This is a great base recipe for you to let your creativity & cravings take flight. This recipe can be vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian, or whatever-ian!
However, since this is porridge & it takes about an hour & a half to fully break down the grains, it’s great for busy people. Yes, that’s right. Because if you need to be tap tap tapping away on the keyboard, you can set up your dutch oven or nonstick stock pot with your rice & water & walk away for a half hour. Check on it every half hour or so to stir it around. So easy! When it’s done, just ladle it in & add the things you want. You also have a lot of rice porridge for the remainder of the week too, so you don’t have to cook very much!
Tell me about what you used to eat as a kid when you got sick! Do you still crave it or do you hate it?
Gimmme that recipe
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omg I haven’t been checking in! forgive my lack of attention.
honestly, every time i go to your blog, i’d probably say the same thing: very good photos, tasty looking food and recipe that I will forever be too lazy to even do for myself.
there’s nothing more beautiful than seeing such perfect half-boiled egg on congee / porridge. i always use soy sauce mixed in chopped red chili and onions as seasoning because that’s how straits-born chinese (in Indonesia — since it’s where I live) enjoy our congee. My favorite kind of congee, though, is either hong kong styled or the indonesian chicken congee especially when it’s topped with yellow chicken broth and seasoned with sweet and salty soy sauce. have you tried it before? you should check out the indonesian styled congee 🙂 it’s a classic for the country!
Yumm! Yes I’m pretty sure I’ve tried all sorts of congee. I love it in all forms, at least I’ve learned to. Don’t worry about not being attentive, Alice! I haven’t been either. Too caught up with…well, my life haha, but I’ll catch up with you soon!! :-*
When I was sick as a kid, I ate Korean rice porridge, but I was never a fan of it . . . but now as an adult I actually like it! I love the savoury ones, especially when you add a bit of kimchi to give it a spicy kick. I find that when I eat the Korean one, I can also have great side dishes to eat with it because the porridge comes out bland, so they complement each other well. You know, your recipe makes me wonder if this will be good to cook in a crockpot . . .
Anyway, thanks for sharing this recipe, Tiff! As always, it looks super delicious and appetising! <3
Yummm I love adding kimchi to my porridge too. 🙂 I also love all the banchan you can enjoy with your porridge too. The recipe would be perfect in a crockpot! Try it out & let me know how it goes!
Well, I’m Asian and we’re not immune to anything, except for maybe alcoholism. I kid. I kid. It’s been a while since I had porridge, but I hae the same problem with oatmeal. All I do is throw some bananas in there and hope for the best.
hahaha well, I think in North America, I’ve seen a lot of my friends fall under the weather pretty easily, but boy, one trip to Asia & you’d be surprised how 80% of the population hasn’t died of food poisoning.
Try adding a little cocoa powder to your oatmeal, a tsp of vanilla, or cinnamon to make your oatmeal more interesting if bananas aren’t doing it for you. 😉
I grew up with congee and had to eat it when I got braces, but as a child, I didn’t really like it. Now as an adult, I miss it! Since I don’t live with my parents anymore, I’ve been meaning to figure out how to make it myself. I’m going to check out your recipe 😀
I’m with you, sister! Hated it as a kid too, but then you grow up & your tastebuds mature. Hah! Let me know how it goes, it really is just a matter of cooking rice in broth for a really long time.
I love making that stuff! I have made it several different ways, sometimes with shredded chicken, sometimes with just a bit of ginger if my tummy is being mean. It took me a few times to get it just right to the way I like but now it hardly takes any effort. That sucks about your wisdom tooth or teeth though, ug. I got all of mine out surgically when I was 26 so that I could get braces. They were crowding my teeth and making them look horrible. I hope you feel better soon!
Thanks!! Not gonna lie, I had porridge 2 weeks in a row & didn’t even get tired of it. I kind of want to make more, but I’m trying to lower my carb intake (WHY IS IT SO HARD? EVERYTHING DELICIOUS IS MADE WITH CARBS!!). Shredded chicken + ginger = what I ate growing up!