14 Congee Recipes for When Your Rice Porridge Craving Strikes (2024)

FAQs

What does rice porridge do to the body? ›

The benefits of congee and looser porridge result from long, slow cooking with lots of water, transforming food into a meal that hydrates, supports digestion & soothes the stomach. Congee improves digestion by soothing and balancing the entire digestive tract and every organ of digestion.

Rich in flavour and filled with the goodness of nutrients, rice congee is the perfect dish to have daily for anyone, especially children who are picky eaters. Introduce your fussy baby to a warm bowl of rice congee topped with the things they love. The delicious dish is also beneficial for your overall well-being.

The simplest and biggest difference to tell apart what is a congee and a porridge, is the texture of the rice. The rice in congee is utterly cook to the point it dissolved into a glue-ly / starchy texture. Porridge on the other hand, the rice still retain mostly its shape and have clearly soup / water base.

Serve the congee with a sprinkling of soy sauce, spring onion and ginger and a few drops of sesame oil to taste.

For a healthier version, I frequently recommend using brown rice, or even barley or millet. Simmer on very low heat for 1-2 hours or until rice is quite broken down.

Congee, also known as rice porridge, has less calories and carbohydrates than rice because it is typically made with a higher ratio of water to rice. The rice is cooked for a longer period of time, breaking down the starch and making it more easily digestible.

Congees. Congees are a popular year-round breakfast option. However, they can cause a quick rise in your blood glucose levels (BGL) because they are high in Glycaemic Index (GI) as they are made with white rice. Swap or mix your white rice with grains such as pearl barley, red beans, mung beans and rolled oats.

Another fascinating thing about Congee is that it is effective for both Constipation and Diarrhea. Congee is easy to digest and provides hydration to the body which is essential to cure diarrhea. It also moistens the cells of the intestinal area so that it helps to reduce your constipation issues.

In some cultures, congee is eaten primarily as a breakfast food or late supper; some may also eat it as a substitute for rice at other meals. It is often considered suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food.

Congee or Rice Porridge

Here's how to make congee, the savory Chinese rice porridge, out of overcooked rice: Bring a couple of inches of water to a boil in a sauce pan and start adding the mushy rice, a couple of spoonful's at a time. Break them up with a whisk, as you add them to the water.

Is oatmeal better than rice porridge? ›

Oats are a better option than rice for weight loss and fitness aims. Oats is a better choice for people suffering from Iron Deficiency Anemia. Oats are rich in antioxidants including avenanthramides. Avenanthramides helps in lowering the blood pressure levels.

Congee is considered in TCM as a must-have breakfast dish. By jump-starting the digestive system congee injects the nutrients right where they are needed and naturally heals by nurturing the digestive system to maximise it's function. If you need to lose or gain weight congee can help.

Whisking the congee is our secret for making restaurant-quality congee that's full-bodied and almost-creamy. This technique will help break down more of the rice grains and let those starches out to thicken the congee. If it gets too thick at any point, you can always thin it out by adding some boiling water.

The range of sides that goes with congee is endless. Lovers of preserved will be spoilt for choice with options such as pickled cucumber, wheat gluten, pickled turnip, pickled white gourd, fermented bean curd, dried bamboo shoot, salted clam, salted duck egg, meat floss and all sorts of fried bean sticks.

The mark of a good bowl of Cantonese-style congee is the silky-smooth texture of the porridge. Beancurd skin is the secret ingredient to ensuring the texture of each bowl of congee comes out right. Adding the beancurd skin helps to make the rice grains mushy, and thus easier to cook down to a smooth consistency.

If you are accustomed to having toast and coffee for breakfast and cannot bare to face a piece of fish, pork or turkey for breakfast, serve the congee for lunch, dinner or late-night snack on those cold evenings when a steaming bowl of soup is comforting.

Many studies have shown that rice flour has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant substances that help prevent skin aging, reduce the harmful effects of UV rays, promote skin lightening. Some skin care and hair care products also use rice starch to absorb excess oil.

The starches released by the rice coats and nourishes the stomach and intestines, helping those with sour stomachs and acidity. For those with young kids and elderly with weaker constitution to care for I recommend eating the dish plain without many added ingredients.