Congee

[Ben Hong]

You live in a free country, so they say, do whatever and eat whatever you want. But what you propose is not Chinese food You should be summarily convicted of heresy and blasphemy and sentenced to stoning by 10 boxes of Bob's Red Mill.

[Dejah]

Now before I get called out for blasphemy, here me out. I love me some nice, hot congee. Soothes the soul ya know? But I absolutely disdain the process of waiting it out, despite the set-it-and-forget-it method used in its creation. Sometimes, when you just want something, you want it right then, right  there? Not 8 hours later, NOW!

I have seen cream of rice (white) and Bob's Red Mill (an organic line of products) Brown Rice Farina at my local one stop shop, and wanted to know this: Can I create a similar experience to it's slow cooked rendition, sans slow cooking?

Has anyone even tried this? I was thinking it'd do quite nicely cooked with a cube of chicken boullion (one with MSG, thank you very much) and dash of soy sauce. Maybe some doufu ru on the side, some chopped up crullers (which are sitting in my freezer, awaiting their radiation bath) mixed in.

Any thoughts? Criticisms? Evictions from the Chinese board altogether? 

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Seriously, do you REALLYwant it that badly, and I do mean badly?! If you've eaten slow-simmered, well-made, authentic congee, you will forever have that taste and feeling of contentment in memory.

I think you will be sorely disappointed with this quick fix. But then, try it and prove us wrong.

[sheetz]

There are actually packets of instant jook that you can buy, but those are gross, imo.

A while back I was in search of a more healthful alternative to the traditional white rice jook and here is what I came up with: Mix 1 part quick cooking oats with 3 parts broth in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for approx 3 minutes on high until thick and creamy.

If you add things like slivered ginger, chopped scallions, preserved egg, etc. it's actually not bad at all. Seriously.

Edited March 4, 2007 by sheetz (log)

[Dejah]

There are actually packets of instant jook that you can buy, but those are gross, imo.

A while back I was in search of a more healthful alternative to the traditional white rice jook and here is what I came up with: Mix 1 part quick cooking oats with 3 parts broth in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for approx 3 minutes on high until thick and creamy.

If you add things like slivered ginger, chopped scallions, preserved egg, etc. it's actually not bad at all. Seriously.

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Your idea of using oats reminds me of the oatmeal porridge my mom used to make in HK for my breakfast. Dad had sent a big container of regular oatmeal from Canada. Not being used to eating NA style porridge, Mom used to make a savory version, much like what you described!

[sheetz]

I understand eating savory oatmeal is common in some other cultures. I use quick cooking oats rather than regular oats because the resulting texture is closer to that of rice. Regular oatmeal has a completely different texture.

Edited March 4, 2007 by sheetz (log)

[hzrt8w]

A while back I was in search of a more healthful alternative to the traditional white rice jook and here is what I came up with: Mix 1 part quick cooking oats with 3 parts broth in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for approx 3 minutes on high until thick and creamy.

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The question is: is this oatmeal portridge still considered "jook"?

I too have seen the packages of "instant jook" - something like just add water and heat them up - but I couldn't tell you how they taste... never stimulated my wish to try them.

[SuzySushi]

I understand eating savory oatmeal is common in some other cultures. I use quick cooking oats rather than regular oats because the resulting texture is closer to that of rice. Regular oatmeal has a completely different texture.

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Interesting about the savory oatmeal. I can't abide oatmeal cereal -- it's so bland! Maybe I need to try it with some broth, ginger, and scallions. Breakfast of champions, ya' know!

[Spike L]

Honestly, get a rice cooker that can make congee (I'm personally on the Zojirushi bandwagon). Sure, it's not as nice as if it were slow cooked, but it only takes an hour and the results are more than edible, especially if you make it from a flavoured stock base and put tasty things in it.

[Ben Hong]

Savoury oatmeal with salted duck egg was often served to us when we were off our feed.

[Dejah]

Any rice cooker can make jook, but on top of the stove doesn't need to take more than an hour. You'd have to "mind it", I suppose, but that's all part of the joys of making jook!

[Yemyem]

Hi all! I'm a newbie!

My mom has this shortcut of using cooked rice it really cuts down on the cooking time. It isn't instantaneously of course but still better than Farina. IMHO

[Dejah]

Hi all! I'm a newbie!

My mom has this shortcut of using cooked rice it really cuts down on the cooking time. It isn't instantaneously of course but still better than Farina.  IMHO

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Good Morning, Yemyem, and welcome. Now that you've posted, you are no longer a "newbie"!

Leftover rice is certainly a good option for quick jook fix - better than farina.

[Gastro888]

I fyou can, try getting the broken rice from a Vietnamese market (or an Asian market that sells a large variety of rice). I learned by accident that this type of rice makes for a great jook. I supposed you could take your own rice and pound it, which would make for about the same thing.

Oh ick, farina and Cream of Rice? Bleah...where's the thick creaminess?!

[XiaoLing]

I also use cooked rice for fast congee.

It's much faster and usually takes about 15 mins or so. Much more authentic than "cream of rice."

Actually, what is cream of rice? I've never seen it on the shelves before. But then again, I never went looking for it.

[peony]

actually to make creamy congee, u do need ' broken ' rice

[SheenaGreena]

I am another person who uses cooked rice, that way it takes about 30 mins or until the kernals or rice split

cream of wheat is a breakfast food....I have no idea what it tastes like

[Dejah]

actually to make creamy congee, u do need ' broken ' rice

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You can get creamy jook by "whipping" it with a big whisk at the final stage of cooking. I prefer to have "grains of rice" in jook. The creaminess depends on how much you whip it.

I don't tend the pot very much while it is cooking because I like the "browned stuff" stuck to the bottom of the pot!

This thread is not good for people on Weight Watchers or South Beach diets!

[Seitch]

A while back I was in search of a more healthful alternative to the traditional white rice jook and here is what I came up with: Mix 1 part quick cooking oats with 3 parts broth in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for approx 3 minutes on high until thick and creamy.

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The question is: is this oatmeal portridge still considered "jook"?

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I'd have to say that the answer to that is, no. It's savory oatmeal.

Jook has to be made from rice.

[Ben Hong]

I'd have to say that the answer to that is, no.  It's savory oatmeal.

Jook has to be made from rice.

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Oh Oh! GIRD YOUR LOINS, ERGO SUM YOUR COGITAS', DRAW YOUR LINE IN THE SAND. The storms of another semantic war is gathering.

Does porridge have to be made only with oatmeal? Do we not call jook rice porridge? When my mother fed me savoury oatmeal porridge did she not call it mak pei jook?

Edited March 6, 2007 by Ben Hong (log)

[Dejah]

I'd have to say that the answer to that is, no.  It's savory oatmeal.

Jook has to be made from rice.

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Oh Oh! GIRD YOUR LOINS, ERGO SUM YOUR COGITAS', DRAW YOUR LINE IN THE SAND. The storms of another semantic war is gathering.

Does porridge have to be made only with oatmeal? Do we not call jook rice porridge? When my mother fed me savoury oatmeal porridge did she not call it mak pei jook?

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According to Oxford dictionary,

- congee is a "thick Oriental soup made of rice"

-porridge is a dish consisting of oats or another cereal boiled in water or milk,

- cereal is any kind of grain used for food, and rice is a grain.

Therefore, I decree that congee can be called savory porridge, but a savory porridge made with oats or grains other than rice must be called savory porridge, and not congee. Only savory rice porridge may be called congee.

Now, can anyone find the word "jook" in a dictionary?

And, "mares eat oats and does eat oats, but we all eat congee..."

[Ben Hong]

But...I didn't say anything about congee. So, if the Oxford Dictionary doesn't list jook, then does it mean that we can use the word comme il faut or wherever we feel like ?

[Pan]

[...]Now, can anyone find the word "jook" in a dictionary?[...]

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Yeah.

From dictionary.reference.com:

jook

noun

1.  a Chinese rice gruel eaten for breakfast [syn: congee]

[Tepee]

Oooh....I love how Msians throw confusion into a pot. We always called congee porridge. Congee is like a very foreign word. Our porridge is classified into teochew porridge, cantonese chue chap jook, pei dan jook, tang chai jook (HK-style where lots of goodies are thrown in). Examples of sweet jooks are mug jook (wheat) and hak lor mai jook (black glutinous rice). I guess anything with a thick consistency, be it made from beans or grains, are deemed jook here.

Edited March 6, 2007 by Tepee (log)

[phage]

Juk being the Korean word for porridge, and it is found in various forms. Pat Juk - is juk made from aduki beans. This can have small balls of rice dumpling in it. There's Hobak-juk, made with squash. Juk made with black sesame seeds and rice.... what else, I wonder.... So why not oatjuk (say that fast and I'll say....Gesundtheit!)

You can also buy prepackaged dehydrated juk in Korea, and in Korean shops in America. Good for a camping trip, not so much if you are at home and have time to cook.....

I've mostly cooked oatmeal as a savoury dish during the course of my life - gives a nice gummy pasty texture to wrap around the meat, vegs. or whatever I want to put in it....

If you're in the big market in Jung-gu, Pusan, or the market across from the train station in Gyeongju, you can try Korean porridge from the vendors' stalls.

--Phage

[Dejah]

Oooh....I love how Msians throw confusion into a pot. We always called congee porridge. Congee is like a very foreign word. Our porridge is classified into teochew porridge, cantonese chue chap jook, pei dan jook, tang chai jook (HK-style where lots of goodies are thrown in). Examples of sweet jooks are mug jook (wheat) and hak lor mai jook (black glutinous rice). I guess anything with a thick consistency, be it made from beans or grains, are deemed jook here.

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So, Dang Msians! Congee is like a foreign word, but porridge isn't!

Sure, Pan. "Thorw another log on the fire, won't cha?"

To add to the list, what about gruel then?

jtnippon! Show thine face in here!

Mumble, mumble - Give me that can of Campbell's Chicken and Rice SOUP!