Japanese congee

[Ce'nedra]

How is it made and what are the usual condiments? What about other Japanese varieties? Is it at all similar to the Chinese style?

I've seen a few pictures of Korean congee and I remember it was was served with LOTS of tiny plates (not sure what it contained).

Is the Japanese style congee similar to this?

P.S. I love congee!

[rykomatsu]

I'm assuming you're talking about rice gruel in which case you can have 3 variants:

Okayu (お粥)

Zosui (雑炊)

Ojiya (おじや)

Okayu is made from uncooked rice, whereas Zosui and Ojiya are made from cooked rice. Okayu is generally very thick compared to jook/juk(the korean one), though this can be "adjusted" by varying the water to rice ratio.

Zosui is made from pre-cooked rice and is washed to remove the surface "stickiness" resulting in a clean and light texture.

Ojiya is the same as zosui, but generally left unwashed and results in a thicker consistency than Zosui, but I suppose all the descriptions here are splitting hairs.

Flavoring is rather varied, but one of the charms, for lack of a better term, is making zosui or ojiya after making shabu shabu, as you have some very wonderful stock remaining afterwards (though I prefer udon at the end). Starting from scratch, though, I generally go with fish stock; usually bonito+flying fish+a few other things which are in the dashi-pack I use. Add lightly beaten eggs and a dash of salt and pepper. Simmer for a few moments, and add green onions. Serve while piping hot. Because it's in hot water, the rice will become softer and softer over time so keep this in mind when you're preparing it. After a while you might be eating rice paste...miso can be used in place of fish stock as well, though I'm not a particular fan of this.

Other condiments that go well...hm...Umeboshi is definitely one of them

I think ochazuke (お茶漬け) would fall into the gruel category to an extent. In which case there are many varieties...salmon-chazuke, ikura-chazuke, oyako-chazuke (salmon+ikura), umechazuke, etc.

My personal favorite, if you consider ochazuke as part of the rice gruel family would be a variant of snapper (鯛) chazuke:

rice (wash beforehand if you prefer zosui type or don't if you prefer ojiya type)

houjicha

sliced snapper

ground white sesame seed

soy sauce

I'm not good with portions, but basically take a LOT of sesame seed and grind it until it becomes very aromatic. Add soy sauce to make it a paste (watery or thick is personal preference...i prefer thick so the sesame sticks to the snapper better). Roll the snapper around in the paste and let it sit for 2-3hrs in the fridge. Lay the slices of the sesame/soysauce/snapper concoction on top of a bowl of rice and pour the houjicha over it. Let it sit for a min or 2 to slightly cook the snapper. Add seaweed (nori) or what not on top of the dish and consume.

I'm sure others will chime in as well

[helenjp]

Zosui has the big advantage of being quick!

Chinese style congee is popular in Japan, including congee made with medicinal ingredients, but the preferred texture of Japanese style congee or "okayu" is a bit different since it is made with short-grain rice.

Just add either 3 times, 5x, 7x, or 10x as much water as raw rice, bring to the boil and cook rapidly for a while, then allow to simmer till done.

You don't have to use white rice, you can use brown rice, or a mixture of white rice and other grains.

Of course, anything salty, such as ikura, goes well with okayu, and rykomatsu's tasty-looking recipe for snapper is popular too.

Umeboshi and other pickles are probably the most common when eating at home, and so are nori, ginger, and sesame seeds.

Okayu is also popular with fresh herbs in it - you can blanch them and add them to congee just before serving, but I like to chop them finely and rub a litle salt into them, then squeeze out any bitter juices before dropping them in the congee. I think that 1 part rice to 7 parts water is about right forthis style of okayu.

You can also make a thick okayu and then thin it with milk, and simmer for about 10 minutes - good for okayu with seafood or beans.

You can cook the okayu together with other starchy ingredients such as satsuma-imo (Japanese sweet potato), various types of yam, or azuki or other beans, but usually they are cooked separately and added to the cooked okayu, to avoid discoloring the rice.

Sweet potato okayu is a favorite in my family.

[Ce'nedra]

Thanks for all your Japanese congee knowledge rykomatsu and helenjp! Wow I never knew there were 3 types -thanks for the explanation of the differences. I only know of Okayu. Does it happen to be more popular than the other two?

By your description, it also sounds sort of similar to the Chinese (Cantonese specifically) style of congee. I'm guessing the rice isn't broken down as much as the Cantonese jook though. I love mine smooth and creamy

Okayu still has rice solids visible right? Like a quick kind of congee. If so, that's what my mum makes for me and my dad every morning (dad grew up eating congee for breakfast, lunch, dinner almost everyday).

The dashi stock congee sounds interesting! I've never thought of using dashi stock in congee. Is there a recipe for this? While this does happen, is it common for the Japanese to add meat/chicken/fish to their congee?

For the sesame paste version, does the addition of it impart a nutty flavour? Sounds delicious! I've very curious to try!

helenjp, for the Chinese style congee in Japan, do they have it with the fried dough sticks? I love to dip those in congee yummmmm!

I should try making congee with short-grain rice -see how it goes. I tend to use Jasmine rice as that's the kind we always eat at home.

About the milk, what kind of texture or taste would this give the congee?

Ooo sweet potato -the Teo Chius and Hokkiens also like to add it to their congees alot apparently. Wouldn't this create a sweet flavoured congee though?

[Ce'nedra]

Is this how congee in Japan is typically served?

http://www.novartisnutrition.jp/recipe/mon...mg/food_09b.jpg

http://www.nagasaki.web-saito.net/column/images/66_okayu.jpg

http://image.blog.livedoor.jp/rajya007/imgs/f/4/f4641aae.jpg

Looks gorgeous!

Edited October 22, 2007 by Ce'nedra (log)

[Ce'nedra]

Also, the idea of adding a cracked egg into congee sounds good! Shall try that also. Do you mix it through the congee or just let it set?

[helenjp]

Hi Ce'nedra...

about the photos

1) I think this might be a soft diet for an elderly person

2) This looks like the kind of menu you would see in a restaurant with okayu

3) This looks as if it might be Chinese influenced.

Egg in okayu...I think most people would mix it in???

I forget who taught me to make Chinese congee, but I was taught to soak the rice, then grind it a bit to break up the rice grains - Japanese okayu isn't cooked particularly fast, but you should see very soft and swollen grains floating in a thickened, translucent gruel.

You can actually cook okayu in tea - very nice when you are cold and tired!

Sweet potato okayu...it's not sweetened like Chinese dessert soups, and I think Japanese sweet potato is not quite as sweet as US sweet potato - but if you see NZ kumara in Sydney, it may be a little sweeter than that. Usually the sweet potato is cut into cubes and cooked together with the okayu - but not a huge amount, just enough to add interest to the okayu.

[sanrensho]

Egg in okayu...I think most people would mix it in???

Yes, swirled in, like egg drop soup.

[torakris]

If you haven't already I would look at this article on Rice Congee from Wikipedia, it shows the differences between congee styles and preparation techniques among different Asian countries.

Like Helen said, the pictures should are pretty fancy versions. Japanese okayu when served in the home is normally quite simple. More like these pictures.

[Ce'nedra]

Thanks for providing me with answers!

I'm wondering, do the Japanese ever eat their congee with a sauce? It's probably not common but does it exist?

[Hiroyuki]

Thanks for providing me with answers!

I'm wondering, do the Japanese ever eat their congee with a sauce? It's probably not common but does it exist?

←

By "sauce", you mean Worcester, chuunou, or konkatsu sauce?? If so, that's very unlikely.

But, come to think of it, people in Osaka may be capable of doing so, since they can eat tempura with these sauces.

[Ce'nedra]

Thanks for providing me with answers!

I'm wondering, do the Japanese ever eat their congee with a sauce? It's probably not common but does it exist?

←

By "sauce", you mean Worcester, chuunou, or konkatsu sauce?? If so, that's very unlikely.

But, come to think of it, people in Osaka may be capable of doing so, since they can eat tempura with these sauces.

←

Well really just anything that adds an additional 'flavour' to the congee. For eg, the Chinese sometimes serve their congee with a dash of soy sauce on top. I'm sure there are other sauces too...

[rykomatsu]

Well really just anything that adds an additional 'flavour' to the congee. For eg, the Chinese sometimes serve their congee with a dash of soy sauce on top. I'm sure there are other sauces too...

←

Sauces I don't think are used. They're generally really delicately flavoured; atleast the ones I've had and the ones I prepare (ochazuke is a little different though)...like mentioned in this thread, I think, many times it's eaten by people who are sick and what not so a "shocking" flavor isn't used. In the context of wrapping up a meal, it's not really desireable to have something that has a heavy lingering taste either.

A dash of soysauce isn't unheard of, but generally speaking the sauces would overpower the delicate nature of the flavouring in the context of how okayu/zosui is served. For additional taste, it's common to have tsukemono (pickles) on the side such as takuan and umeboshi, as stereotypical examples.

[smallworld]

Thanks for providing me with answers!

I'm wondering, do the Japanese ever eat their congee with a sauce? It's probably not common but does it exist?

←

By "sauce", you mean Worcester, chuunou, or konkatsu sauce?? If so, that's very unlikely.

But, come to think of it, people in Osaka may be capable of doing so, since they can eat tempura with these sauces.

←

Hiroyuki, I'd just like to point out that "sauce" in English is quite different from the Japanese word "sosu" (ソース). Sauce really means any liquidy condiment or flavouring, and it includes tomato sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce, cream sauce, gravy and a million others. I guess "tare" (たれ) is closer in meaning?

Ce'nedra, I occasionally add a splash of soy sauce to my okayu, which my husband finds mildly scandalous. So I'm guessing it's not normally done here. Like many Japanese, he always craves okayu when he's sick and prefers it very lightly flavoured with salt. When he's a little better, an egg, flaked salmon or salted kombu are added (but not all at once).

I find Japanese style okayu to be a bit plain so I prefer zosui. It can be more heavily flavoured and can have more stuff in it, and as Helen pointed out it also easier and faster to make.