Miso Congee

Congee is a savory rice porridge from China which I have adapted to feature Japanese flavors such as miso, togarashi, sesame seeds, pickled ginger and a spring onion oil (optional).

With a fried egg on top, the gooey yolk adds more richness to the chicken stock rice porridge that has been simmering away for about an hour.

The dish is super easy to make. Simmer rice, chicken stock and ginger for an hour until a porridge consistency is achieved. Fry an egg and top with extra seasonings. Enjoy for breakfast or lunch, it’s very nourishing.

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain white rice (basic long grain - not basmati)

7 cups chicken bone broth (powdered ones are more affordable usually), or chicken stock, reduced sodium

2 cups water

1 tbsp white miso paste

1 thumb size piece of ginger, matchsticks

Toppings:

1 egg, fried, per serving

Chilli oil

Spring onion

Sesame seeds

Togarashi

Pickled Ginger

Fried Shallots

Spring Onion Oil:

1 bunch of spring onions, green parts only

500ml neutral oil

Method:

To make the spring onion oil: blend spring onion with neutral oil in a high speed blender until all the spring onion is blended throughly. Strain through a cheesecloth for a green oil with no “pulp” or keep as is for a thicker, darker green oil. Personally, I kept mine as is and didn’t strain it.

Cook the congee: clean the skins off a piece of ginger and slice off a thin round slice of ginger. Slice the round into thin matchsticks and continue for the remaining ginger. Add rice, ginger, chicken bone broth and water to a large pot and turn the heat up to medium-high. Add miso paste and whisk gently to break apart. Bring the pot up to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer for an hour, stirring every now and then just to make sure no rice is sticking to the bottom. After an hour, the rice should be broken down into smaller pieces and the porridge should be spoonable. It will thicken more as it cools, feel free to add more stock to thin it out.

Taste and adjust for salt. I don’t call for any salt in this recipe because the broth/stock usually has salt added and miso paste is salty too. Though taste and adjust based on your preference at this stage and add salt if you like.

Garnish and assemble: add a fried egg on top that you fried with sesame seeds and togarashi. Spoon over chilli oil and spring onion oil. Add pickled ginger and fried shallots. Enjoy while warm.