Thursday, November 28, 2013

Congee, or Jook

Yum! My latest food addiction -- and a healthy one.

I read descriptions such as Chinese comfort food, the perfect food for a cold day, even a likeness to chicken and dumplings that really isn't all that far-fetched.

So utterly easy to make, albeit a bit time-consuming to cook, as the liquid must evaporate and the rice cook to a soft consistency. Put the rice, water, chicken stock, salt, ginger and boneless, skinless chicken thighs into a pot and let it cook until done. Period. I used this recipe, although I altered it to use brown rice instead of white, and doubled the amount of ginger (it could use still more). I also added more liquid, to offset the brown rice, and if there's too much it's easy to let more of it evaporate away.

Yesterday I ate two bowls. Today, just this one slightly larger bowl. And I'm stuffed, in a very pleasant way. Lots of chicken ended up in this bowl, which made it extra filling. Now, I think it's time for an afternoon nap.