Congee, also known as jook in Cantonese, was one of my favorite things to eat growing up.
My parents used to make this chicken congee recipe as breakfast for my sister and I as we got ready for school, and they'd always have a week's worth of congee for us whenever we got sick.
Even though it’s a very simple dish, for so many of us, jook is one that brings both comfort and nostalgia.
What is congee?
Jook is a porridge made from rice that’s cooked down with a large amount of water. It’s simmered for a long time to get a nice, velvety texture. Depending on personal preference, it can be thick and creamy or a thinner, more watery consistency.
How to make congee is actually quite simple. Any type of congee will use the same congee base, so follow our rice porridge recipe to get the silkiest, smoothest basic white congee. Then, when the recipe says to add marinated chicken, you can swap it for beef, pork, sliced fish, shrimp, or other seafood. That's how restaurants do it when they serve jook!
Congee origins: The porridge with a thousand names
The word "congee" was derived from the Tamil language of Ancient India, "kanji." In Cantonese, we call it "jūk" (which kinda sounds like "jook"), but there are many, many different variations and names for it across Asia.
Even though congee is commonly known as a rice porridge, that wasn't always the case. Eaten over the course of thousands of years in China, congee was made with whatever grains were available locally: millet, cornmeal, barley, etc.
An expert Chinese chef’s tip for making the smoothest congee
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.
Why we don't eat jook on Chinese New Year
Congee can be eaten at any meal and occasion, but interestingly, in Chinese tradition, it’s considered a bad omen to eat jook on Chinese New Year.
When I asked my parents about it, my mom explained that in the “old, old days, many people didn't have enough rice to eat. Using relatively small amounts of rice, they made big pots of congee to make their rice last longer.”
She said that, “the rich ate cooked rice, the poor ate jook” and that congee was not considered a high-class food, making it an unlucky meal for the start of the new year.
But, my dad quickly chimed in: “This is not true - if cooked with high-class ingredients, porridge is a high-class meal.”
But historical accounts show that congee was actually enjoyed across all walks of life, from emperors to everyday people.
It's also an ideal food for babies - my mom started feeding us congee when we turned 1, and it's certainly something that we'll enjoy feeding our newborn son very soon!
Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!
