I get asked about this a lot, for some reason. Probably because I bring it up a lot.
On weekdays, I eat congee for breakfast every day. It’s fast, easy, healthy (maybe? Brown rice has fibre, right?) and filling. I got the idea while staying at a youth hostel in Hong Kong where they offered 3 kinds of breakfast:
- Western (aka American/British): 2 slices of toast, a couple of fried hot dogs and fried eggs
- Hong Kong: macaroni in soup with fried eggs and Spam
- Chinese: some kind of congee
For some reason, the congee really agreed with my digestive system in the morning and I’ve been having it since. Except on weekends when I go full English.
Bacon. It’s a hell of a drug.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
- 1.5 tbsp white miso paste*
- 2 slices ginger*
- 6 cups water
- Eggs (or some other kind of protein – meat, fish, tofu, etc.)
Let’s do it!
- Before the beginning of your week (Sunday, for me), put the rice, miso paste, ginger and water in a slow cooker on high. I do this before bed so that it runs at a low simmer for 8 hours. You can adjust the rice level depending on how thick you like your congee, and the miso level depending on how strong a flavour you like.
- Once the rice has turned to mush, this is done. You should now have 5 cups of congee: 1 cup for every morning. Put this in the fridge, it’ll last the week.
- Every morning, I microwave 1 cup of congee in a big bowl for 2 minutes. Make sure it’s a big bowl and that you cover it with a microwave cover. This WILL bubble up and mess up your entire microwave. Not ideal for a busy morning. If you’re not using eggs, you can heat your protein up along with the congee for however long it takes your microwave to heat the food through.
- I crack two eggs into the heated congee, break up the egg white (but not the yolks), stir it up and put it back in the microwave for 2 minutes to soft-cook the eggs. Add fish sauce or soy sauce to taste. (Microwave times may vary)
*Note: Miso paste keeps forever in your fridge, so don’t be scared of buying a tub of it. I go through one every few months. As for ginger, I’ll buy a large knob, peel it and cut it into slices that keep very nicely in a freezer bag in my freezer.