Shiitake Congee

Congee topped with a soft boiled egg, spring onion, chilli oil and crispy onions

Congee is a rice porridge which has its roots in Eastern Asia. You can find all kinds of variations, from parts of India preparing it with different grains, with the addition of nuts, jaggery or chutney, to Korea making versions with black sesame, abalone or pumpkin. The one thing that congee has in common in all these countries, is that it’s regarded in some type of way as a healing food.

Congee is my perfect gentle food. Anytime my stomach hasn’t felt right, or If I’ve been eating too much inflammatory foods, I can always count on congee to soothe it. It’s that type of dish where you can stick in on the stove and just let it cook itself, with the occasional stir.

Usually I have very basic toppings on my congee, or none at all. If I havent been feeling well, I do no toppings, If I can afford to I’ll drizzle some chilli oil or crisp, crispy shallots, green onions, roasted radishes, eggs… anything my heart desires.

This recipe is for congee, but you can jazz it up however you’d like to.

TIP: Depending on the type of rice you use, it may take longer to make the congee. I used jasmine rice, which took 40-45 mins to cook.

Serves: 4-6 people

Prep/cooking time: 45-70 mins

Ingredients

6 dried shiitake mushrooms

190g rice (long-grain, short-grain, jasmine etc…), washed

38g ginger, cut in half lengthways

4 cloves of garlic, grated or minced finely

1.7L chicken or vegetable stock (can be half water, half stock)

2 tsps light soy sauce

1 tsp normal soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp rice vinegar

salt

Method

1. Into a big pot, add the shiitake mushrooms, washed rice, ginger, garlic and stock. Turn the heat up to high and let it come to a boil.

2. Once boiling, skim the foam (if there is any), turn the heat down to medium and put a lid on. Let the mixture simmer for 40-65 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t catch at the bottom. The thicker it will get, the more you’ll have to stir.

3. Once the congee has become creamy and thick, remove the shittake and chop them up into small chunks, return to the pot. Stir in the light and normal soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar. If it’s too thick, stir in some water or more stock to loosen to your liking. Season with salt.

4. Remove the ginger and serve the congee whilst hot, with any toppings you would like.