Congee ( , derived from Tamil ) is a form of savoury porridge, primarily made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens, and commonly flavored with salt or mild broth. Depending on the rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal porridge to a gruel. Congee is typically served with side dishes, or it can be topped with meat, fish, and pickled vegetables.
Vivid experiences of eating or delivering thin congee as wartime or famine food often feature in diaries and chronicles. 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.Robert Saunders (1789) "Boutan & Thibet", Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Vol. 79, p. 101
Etymology The popular English name congee derives from the Tamil word (kañci). The Portuguese adopted the name as canje, with the first document mentioning the dish and the word in 1563. The English name was adopted from the Portuguese. In China, congee is known as zhou (), with the first recorded reference traced back to 1000 BC during Zhou dynasty. Across Asia, various similar dishes exist with varying names.
Varieties East Asia China By porridge ( or in Standard Chinese), Chinese languages across the south usually mean rice porridge, while in the north it may be cornmeal porridge, proso millet porridge, foxtail millet porridge, or sorghum porridge, reflecting the north–south divide of grain production.
In northwest Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, fermented rice and millet porridge known as 酸粥 (Jin Chinese: ) is popular. Rice and millet are soaked to allow fermentation, then water is drained to obtain porridge. The water is served as a drink, 酸米湯 (Jin Chinese: ). The porridge is eaten with pickles of turnips, carrots, radish or celery. When stirred-fried, the porridge is called 炒酸粥 (). The porridge may also be steamed into solids known as 酸撈飯 (). While the traditional grain is proso millet, it is mixed with rice when available. Many folk idioms of sourness derive from this dish.
In Shanghai, Suzhou and nearby, an iconic glutinous rice porridge topped by red bean paste, sweet olive syrup and brown sugar is 赤豆糊糖粥 (Wu Chinese: ). Street hawking of this porridge is featured in a well-known Wu Chinese nursery rhyme.. In
Originating in Guangdong, century egg congee ( in Cantonese) has become popular nationwide since the 2000s. It was first tested on the menu of KFC in Shanghai in 2002 and later rolled out to all KFCs in mainland China and Taiwan. Century egg porridge ranked in the top ten in breakfast orders in almost every Chinese major city as far north as Harbin.
Additional common regional ingredients include salted duck eggs, rousong, zhacai, pickled tofu, mung beans and organ meats (especially pig liver). Youtiao is served as a side dish in some Chinese cultures. Congee with multiple ingredients tends to be seen as expensive and festive congee, such as Laba congee.
Taiwan In Taiwan, congee is known as in Taiwanese Hokkien or in Mandarin. Sweet potato, taro root, or century egg is often added for taste. A famous congee dish in Taiwan is milkfish congee.
Japan
, or often is the name for the type of congee eaten in Japan, which typically uses water to rice ratios of 5:1 or 7:1 and is cooked for about 30 minutes. There are recipes that use a water to rice ratio of up to 20:1.
Kayu may be made with just rice and water, and is often seasoned with salt. Eggs can be beaten into it to thicken it. Toppings may be added to enhance flavour; welsh onion, salmon, roe, ginger, and umeboshi (pickled plums) are among the most common. Miso or chicken stock may be used to flavor the broth. Most Japanese electric rice cookers have a specific setting for cooking congee.
In Japan, porridge – because it is soft and easily digestible – is regarded as a food particularly suitable for serving to the sick and elderly. For similar reasons, it is commonly the first solid food served to Japanese infants, being used to help with the transition from liquids to normally cooked rice, the latter being a major part of the Japanese diet.
A type of kayu referred to as nanakusa-gayu (, "seven herb porridge") is traditionally eaten on 7 January with special herbs that some believe protect against evils and invite good luck and longevity in the new year. As a simple, light dish, nanakusa-gayu serves as a break from the many heavy dishes eaten over the Japanese New Year.
Kayu is also used in Shinto divination rituals.
is a similar dish, which uses already cooked rice, rather than cooking the rice in the soup.
Korea
() is a Korean porridge dish made by boiling rice or other grains or legumes, such as beans, sesame, nuts, and pumpkin. is often eaten warm, especially as a morning meal, but is now eaten at any time of the day.
Depending on the ingredients and consistency, can be considered as food for recuperation, a delicacy, or famine food. Juk Doosan Encyclopedia It is also sold commercially by many chain stores in South Korea, and is a common takeout dish.
The most basic form of , made from plain rice, is called (; 'rice porridge') or (; 'white porridge'). It is usually served with more flavorful side dishes, such as (salted seafood) and various types of kimchi.
There are more than forty varieties of mentioned in historical documents. Notable varieties include made from finely ground pine nuts, made with abalones, made from (Coix lacryma-jobi var. ma-yuen), and made from red beans.
Southeast Asia Myanmar In Myanmar, congee is called or , literally "(uncooked) rice boiled". It is plain porridge, often made with just rice and water, but sometimes with chicken or pork stock and served with a simple garnish of chopped spring onions and crispy fried onions. Paired with garnishes of choice. (Fish sauce, chilli flakes, etc.)
Cambodia
In Khmer, congee is called babor (). It is one of the options for breakfast along with kuyteav, another popular Cambodian breakfast dish. Congee is eaten throughout Cambodia both in the countryside and in the cities.
Congee can be eaten plain or with a variety of side dishes and toppings such as soy sauce, added to enhance taste, as well as dried salted fish or fried breadsticks (, ).
There are two main versions of congee: plain congee, and chicken congee (, ). It is usually eaten during the colder dry season or when someone is sick. After the congee is prepared, a variety of toppings can be added to enhance the flavour such as bean sprouts, green onions, coriander, pepper, along with the dried fish and fried breadsticks on the side. The chicken congee is the same as plain congee but contains more herbs and chicken.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, congee is called bubur, and it is a popular breakfast food. Travelling bubur ayam vendors frequently pass through residential streets in the morning selling the dish. A popular version is bubur ayam, which is congee with shredded chicken meat. It is also served with many condiments, such as green onion, crispy fried shallot, fried soybean, Chinese crullers (youtiao, known as in Indonesia), both salty and sweet soy sauce, and sometimes it is topped with yellow chicken broth and kerupuk (Indonesian style crackers). Unlike some other Indonesian dishes, it is not spicy; sambal or chili paste is served separately.
Some food vendors serve sate alongside it, made from quail egg or chicken intestine, liver, gizzard, or heart.
On the north coast of Bali, famously in a village called Bondalem, there is a local congee dish called mengguh, a popular local chicken and vegetable congee that is spicier than common bubur ayam and more similar to tinutuan, using a spice mix of onions, garlic, coriander seeds, pepper and chili.
In another region of Indonesia, the city of Manado in North Sulawesi, there is a very popular type of congee called tinutuan, or also known as bubur Manado (Manadonese porridge). It is rice porridge served with ample amount of vegetables. A bit different from the one sold in Java, it is made from rice porridge, enriched with vegetables, including kangkung (water spinach), corn kernels, yam or sweet potato, dried salted fish, kemangi (lemon basil) leaves and melinjo (Gnetum gnemon) leaves.
In the eastern parts of Indonesia, the local congee is called papeda, which is made from sago flour. It is a staple food of Maluku and Papuan people. Usually, it is eaten with yellow soup made from tuna or mubara fish spiced with turmeric and lime.
Laos In Laos, congee is called khao piak, literally "wet rice" (, ). It is cooked with rice and chicken broth or water. The congee is then garnished with fried garlic, scallions and pepper. The dish will sometimes be served with chicken, quail eggs, century eggs or youtiao. In Laos, congee is usually eaten as breakfast and during the cold season.
Malaysia In Malaysia, congee is known as porridge or bubur.
Philippines
Lugaw (pronounced ) is the Filipino generic term for rice gruel. It encompasses a wide variety of dishes, ranging from savory dishes very similar to Chinese-style congee to dessert dishes. In the Visayan regions, savory lugaw are known as pospas. Lugaw typically use glutinous rice (Tagalog: malagkit; Visayan: pilit). It is usually thicker than other Asian congees, retaining the shape of the rice, yet with a similar texture.
Savory versions of lugaw are flavored with ginger and traditionally topped with scallions and toasted garlic. Dried red safflower (kasubha) may also be used as a topping, mainly as a visual garnish and to impart a more appealing yellow tinge to the dish. As with Japanese kayu, fish or chicken stock may be used to flavor the broth. The most popular variants of lugaw include arroz caldo (chicken), goto (beef tripe), lugaw na baboy (pork), lugaw na baka (beef), and lugaw na tokwa't baboy (diced tofu and pork). Other versions can also use tinapa (smoked fish), palakâ (frog legs), utak (brain [of pig]), dilà (tongue [of pig]), and litid ([beef] ligaments). They are traditionally seasoned with calamansi, fish sauce (patís), soy sauce (toyò), and black pepper. It is often served to the ill and the elderly, and is favored among Filipinos living in colder climates because it is warm, soft, and easy to digest.
Dessert versions of lugaw include champorado (lugaw with home-made chocolate topped with milk), binignit (lugaw in coconut milk with various fruits and root crops), and ginataang mais (lugaw with sweet corn and coconut milk), among others. Like the savory versions, they are usually eaten for breakfast, but can also be eaten as a snack. In Hiligaynon-speaking areas, lugaw may refer to binignit.
Singapore
In Singapore, Teochew porridge or Singapore-style porridge is a version of Singapore congee. In Singapore, it is considered a comfort food for both breakfast and supper. Teochew porridge dishes are often accompanied by various small plates of side dishes. Usually, it is served as a banquet of meats, fish egg and vegetables eaten with plain rice porridge. The recipes that early immigrants prepared in Singapore have been modified over the generations to suit local tastes. Singapore Teochew style porridge is usually consumed with a selection of Singaporean Chinese side dishes. There is no fixed list of side dishes, but in Singapore, accompaniments typically include lor bak (braised pork), steamed fish, stir-fried water spinach (kangkong goreng), salted egg, fish cake, tofu, omelette, minced meat, braised tau kwa, Hei Bee Hiang (fried shrimp chilli paste), and vegetables.
Thailand