Recipe Box

Congee

We have a new traditional family recipe, thanks to Angel, who married my awesome nephew and became the newest member of our family. Her recipe was passed on to my sister in law, and from her to me!

Congee is a traditional Chinese comfort food, fed to the very young, very old, and invalids. It’s good for tummy woes, fighting the flu (or more applicable to current times, Covid) or just as a mild side dish.

Here’s how I made my first pot of Congee: Put in a large-ish pot:

1 cup uncooked white rice
7 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ginger powder
Salt to taste (I didn’t add any)

I simmered it for three hours, occasionally adding a quarter cup of water, and ended up with a smooth, silky, creamy pudding-like goop that Ken tasted and said was nice.

Since I was making this for future-medicine, I filled small square plastic storage containers with the congee, froze them, then popped the squares out of the containers and put them in Ziploc bags. Now we have 7 bricks of comfort food in the freezer, just waiting to help soothe and heal.

Lori Alden Holuta lives between the cornfields of Mid-Michigan, where she grows vegetables and herbs when she’s not writing, editing, or playing games with a cat named Chives.

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