Congee

Congee is also called rice porridge. In ancient times, people named the thick congee "Chan", the watery one "Chi" or "Mi". The characteristics of congee are that it is easy to digest and very simple to cook it. Congee is one of the traditional Chinese food and has thousands of years of history in China. The Zhou Book says "Emperor Huang Di was first to cook congee with millet as the ingredient", that may be considered the earliest record of congee.

The ancient people were very picky about congee, and there is a saying "the selection of rice comes the first, the selection of water comes the second, and the heat for cooking comes the third". Bai Ju Yi (a very famous poet in ancient China) said: In order to cook delicious congee, the fresh rice should be selected as the ingredient. The rice for congee should always be the fresh one. The ancient people were also very strict with the water quality for the congee cooking. For example, they thought that the rainwater at the beginning of the spring tonic, the snow water in the midwinter antidotal; those water can be used for congee cooking.

Great attention should be paid to the level of the heat for congee cooking. The heat may be categorized into two kinds: "wu fire" (quick and strong heat) and "wen fire" (slow and low heat). If the heat for cooking is too low, the aroma will not come out, if the heat is too strong, the aroma will decline. Generally, boil the water first, then put in the rice, cook it over "wu fire" (quick and strong heat) until it is on the boil, then switch to "wen fire" (slow and low heat) until the soup of the congee boiled away to well-done. In The Idyllic Recipe, Yuan Mei-a literati of the Qing Dynasty, concluded the standards for congee cooking: "the congee with too much water and too little rice should not be considered the first-class congee, and the congee with too much rice and too little water should not be considered the first-class congee either, as the so-called first-class congee, the proportion of water to rice should be carefully balanced, the water and the rice should combine to make a whole".

According to the Chinese tradition, people have vegetable congee in the spring, green bean congee in the summer, lotus root congee in autumn, and preserved meat congee in the winter.

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Congee: Asia’s Comfort Food

From Things Asian website.

Rice, the staple for more than half of the world's population, has truly shaped and defined the varied cuisines of Asia. Centuries-old traditions dictate its cultivation, harvesting and consumption. Asians celebrate rice from planting to harvesting in various colorful festivals. Rice is revered as divine all over Asia and it is typically eaten at least two or three times a day. A meal without rice is not considered a full meal and this important grain is often served in the plainest possible way.

Although Asian cooking styles often include elaborate methods of cooking, sometimes with unusual ingredients, the most impressive similarity between these ancient cuisines is the simplicity of some of their tastiest rice dishes. All over Asia there are various one-dish meals of thick rice soup cooked with plenty of water or broth that can be flavored with a variety of toppings and condiments. In China this dish is most often called Jook or Congee. It has several different names in other parts of Asia. But, by whatever name it is called congee is pure comfort food. It is easy to prepare and most satisfying at any hour in any season. There is no limit to what can be added to congee; this dish is most accommodating. Babies are raised on it and elderly and invalids prefer it for its nutritional value and ease of digestion.

Jook or congee is a dish relished in every corner of China. In old times this porridge-like food was not just the food of the peasant; it was enjoyed by all classes of people. It was even served at banquets among the Chaozhou people. A Qing dynasty manual on porridge by Huang Yungu lists 237 different ways of preparing congee. Other grains were mostly used in northern China where they grew abundantly. While in the south, from Shanghai to Guangzhou (Canton), rice is the preferred grain.

While some Cantonese prefer it sweetened with rock sugar, people of Shanghai like theirs served savory with cabbage. In Fujian, this rice porridge is often made with glutinous rice while that made with fermented red rice is a specialty of its capital, Fuzhou. Sweet Wine Rice Soup is a classic from Shanghai. In this region, Lotus Seed Congee is prepared with lotus seeds and glutinous rice and finished with addition of sugar and served as a snack. In Hong Kong congee can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Congee is not just a dish served any meal; it is also a base for therapeutic treatment. It was prevalent in China as early as pre-Qin period (221-207 B.C.). Congee with asparagus is believed to be a diuretic and was also used to reduce cholesterol. Ginger congee was used to settle the stomach, and reduce nausea and considered a cure for indigestion and diarrhea. For ailments of the respiratory system and fever, one recommended medicine was Pear Congee. Congee with black sesame seeds was used to improve lactation in nursing mothers. Spinach Congee was used as a sedative, while Chicken or Lamb Congees were valued to strengthen a weakened constitution.

In Taiwan they enjoy Gour Bah, a sizzling rice soup. It is often made with baby shrimp. Gour Bah is the hardened rice layer left at the bottom of the rice pot. It becomes the base of any Gour Bah dish. A combination of the sweet small shrimp and tomatoes give the soup an added texture and taste. This soup is also be made with crab and other seafood.

In Korea their rice soup called Jott Jook uses ground rice pulverized to a silken texture before cooking. Ground barley or lentils may be added while cooking, and the soup is garnished with pine nuts and sliced pitted dates.

In Japan rice soup is made from both raw rice and leftover cooked rice. Okayu is the Japanese rice soup served to invalids. They use raw rice and cook it with plenty of water until the rice is very soft. Chopped scallions, carrots or Japanese fish cakes are added to the soup before serving. Japanese peasants as a way saving leftover rice created Zosui, rice soup with cooked rice.

In Philippines congee is cooked the same way as in China, however, they serve it with a salty topping of fried salted fish or cooked chicken. In Vietnam, their rice soup is Chao Bo and it is loaded with tender rice and ground beef. This soup is not only eaten at breakfast, it is also the last course in a Bo Bay Mon, beef-seven-ways-meal. They also prepare a sweetened version made with sticky rice and taro. It is called Che Khoai Mon. In Thailand, rice soup is called Khao Tom. Fragrant jasmine rice is used for their version and it is cooked in chicken broth flavored with fresh ginger and fish sauce. In Myanmar, China's neighbor towards the Himalayan rim, rice soup is made with toasted rice and fish. It is additionally colored yellow with turmeric. Garlic, lemongrass and ginger add enhanced flavorings. The Karans are native Burmese tribe who lives in lower Myanmar on the border of Thailand. They prepare a rice soup called Tata Pan. It has an interesting and imaginative flavor from toasting the raw rice in a dry skillet.

In Bhutan, located on the eastern ridges of the Himalayas, and to the west of China, rice soup is called Tukpa. It is loved for breakfast on cold mornings. In Sikkim close to Tibet and China, their rice soup is called Phitoo and is prepared by cooking rice with excess water along with boneless chicken pieces and crumbled farmers cheese.

In ancient India, fresh and fermented rice soups were popular for breakfast in several regions. Kashyapa Samhita, an ancient Sanskrit text, describes medicinal rice soup made with parched rice, long pepper, dried ginger and pomegranates. The sour rice gruel called Kanjika was made by fermenting rice porridge. It was popular among ancient seafaring Dravidians of South India who served it with deep fried lentil cakes called Vatakas. In Bengal, in eastern India the rice soup is served cold. They make it using boiled rice that is covered with cold water and kept overnight. In south India, the rice soup called kanji has a very similar sounding name to the word congee. In olden days, it was the preferred breakfast dish among farming and seafaring families and it is served warm with salt and cooked red beans and considered a staple food.

Congee is not just a staple comfort food and/or a breakfast food. It is also prepared and used for religious ceremonies and festivals. A Chinese congee, called Laba Zhou, is named to honor the eighth day of the twelfth moon, the day Buddha received enlightenment. On this day Buddhist temples prepare this congee with cereals, peas, dates, chestnuts, lotus seeds and dried fruits. When this dish is prepared on other days it is called eight-treasures-porridge. Thingyan Htamin- Water festival rice soup is prepared in Myanmar to celebrate Hint San, Burmese New Year. It is a time for cleansing the body and mind for the coming year.

In Kerala in Southern India, ancient agrarian practices depended solely on the movement of Sun. On the first day of the Lunar month of Medam they celebrate Vishu, that represents the passing of the sun from Taurus into Aries, a solar event that marks the beginning of a new astrological year. According to Indian astrology, this solar event is believed to be the ideal time for commencing rice cultivation. Vishu Kanji is a special rice soup traditionally served but once a year to celebrate this festival. It is made with a combination of parboiled and long grain rices and puliavarakka, a lima bean type legume with a slightly sour taste, and cooked in coconut milk. The beans give tanginess and a bite to this soup. In parts of south India, as girls attain puberty they are given a four-day coming-of-age ceremony called Thirandu Kalyaanam. On the third day, guests are served Paalkanji, a rice soup cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar. Feeding rice or rice soup to the poor is considered the ultimate good deed.

Rice gruel, a dish with ancient origins, remains popular in most of Asia. There are several myths about its consumption. Since it requires less rice than plain boiled rice to feed the same number of people, it is considered a poor man's meal in China. Because of this on the first day of Chinese New Year people eat cooked fluffy rice for all meals. To eat rice porridge on this day is thought to mean hard times for the future.

The range of ingredients used in preparing rice soup certainly varies with geographic locations. Overall, in China, eggs, chicken, pork, ginger, scallions, Chinese parsley and sometimes lotus seed add flavor and fragrance to their non-medicinal congees. Island nations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines, all flavor theirs with foods of the sea. In Korea, rice soup is enhanced with dates, pine nuts and sugar. The Japanese flavor it with mushrooms, scallops and shrimp while the Vietnamese prepare theirs with beef, root vegetables, fish sauce and roasted peanuts. In Thailand, they prefer theirs made with fragrant rice, shallots, chili paste and garlic. Rice gruels from the Himalayan rim countries of Myanmar and Bhutan show influences of Chinese and Indian and use garlic, ginger, shrimp paste, pork and bamboo shoots to reflect the Chinese influence and turmeric, black pepper and paprika to show the Indian connection. And, in India, rice soups incorporate dairy products, coconut milk and various spices. These differences not withstanding, in Asia, rice porridge remains the comfort food of millions with flavor differences, from one country to another.