This is one of my favorite comfort meals, especially when I’m short on time and inspiration. Enjoying a warm bowl of congee has become a ritual during the cooler months when I need something hearty but not heavy.
I find when I’m traveling a lot and out of my routine or having to eat out more than usual, coming back home and making congee really helps to reset my system.
Something Chinese medicine and Asian cultures have been using for more than two thousand years is a delicious, digestive-harmonizing dish of rice porridge. Depending on where you are, you’ll see it called congee, jook, or jok, to name a few.
It’s a simple dish of rice, and sometimes other grains, cooked in water until it comes to a thin porridge-like consistency.
Congee is easy to digest, can be cooked with medicinal herbs, and is simply delicious. This porridge dish is warming and nourishing and perfect for those who are dry, depleted, or recovering from illness—or a hangover.
It can easily be prepared at night so you can quickly reheat it in the morning to enjoy for breakfast or you can even put it on overnight in a slow cooker. If you’ve got some leftover grains you can always reheat them with extra water and thin them out to create a quick batch of congee.
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