Congee (aka Jook, Xi Fan, Rice Porridge)
Congee, also known as jook, xi fan or rice porridge, is similar to what a chicken noodle soup is—a warm, comforting and flavorful meal. Although you don’t have to eat it just when you’re sick! It looks very simple but of course if you make the chicken stock from scratch it can be time intensive. You can also reduce the prep time and use premade chicken stock and a rice cooker which handles a lot of the heavy lifting for you.
For breakfast you can add in you tiao or fried dough and green onions with your congee. Other toppings include pork fu (pork floss), sausage, chicken, pork, seafood, fish, green onions, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and eggs. When in Hong Kong, we saw entire restaurants dedicated to congee for breakfast and if you are at dim sum you can usually get this dish as well. And it’s nice because a little rice goes a long way when making congee, which is the thought behind the origins of this dish. It is believed that congee was a clever way to feed more people and stretch the food supply—which turned out to be a very delicious idea!
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