aGreatChef.com Blog – Food Blog of Chef Robert Conaway

Monday’s…I really don’t know what to say about them except that they are usually my day off. Sleeping in, doing laundry, and attempting to catch up on my “other” life are the goals for the day. After a day of wine tasting yesterday I awoke to a very busy day off. Opening day for baseball is today, and I have an event at the Hard Rock hotel to attend this evening, so planning my time today is of the essence.

I am not usually home much in the mornings so breakfast is a rarity for me. As I scrambled downstairs I began to think of what meager ingredients could possibly be floating around for my meal and then it came to me…congee!

Congee (Chinese), Juk (Korean) or Oyaku (Japan) is a rice porridge primarily served in the mornings. Simple to make and pretty much flavorless, this dish allows you to add your favorite ingredients and enjoy their flavors without any interference. This is the reason why I like Congee so much, as I can take what’s fresh and in season, toss it into the porridge, season with some soy sauce or Golden Mountain sauce and have a great tasting meal without a ton of labor and time hunched over the stove.

When pressed for time I make a hybrid version of Congee and Oyaku. Congee and Juk have a water to rice ratio of around 12 to 1 while Oyaku has a ration of 5 to 1. This morning I used a 16 to 1 ratio (1/4 cup rice to 4 cups water). Traditional congee can take an hour or more to cook while Oyaku cooking time is around 30 minutes. I cooked mine for 30 minutes or so, as I usually base the time on the consistency or the rice grains and the thickness of the porridge. This does produce a product similar to Chinese congee, but without the long cooking time. At heart I am a traditionalist, though I am willing to bend a bit before a cup of coffee.

My congee this morning was a organic sweet potato, garlic and cilantro (pak chee) with Golden Mountain sauce. The sweet potatoes were grown in my container garden and have been crying to be used up for a week or so. The garlic was raw, juilenned and placed in the bottom of the bowl so the hot congee would ever so slightly tenderize it. Cilantro…chiffonade and reserved as garnish. Ok, so now that I have tempted your taste buds, let’s get to the recipe!

Organic Sweet Potato Congee with raw Garlic and Cilantro

Yield – 1 serving

1/4 cup – organic sweet potatoes, peel on and sliced thin

1/4 cup cilantro, chiffonade

2 garlic cloves, juillenned

1+ tablespoon – Golden Mountain sauce

For the Congee

1/4 cup – short grain white rice

4 cups – water

Method

• Place the rice and the water in a pot and BTAB.
• Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1/2 an hour or so, until the congee begins to thicken.
• Slice the sweet potato thin and add to the congee about 10 minutes before it’s done so the root cooks.
• Place the garlic on the bottom of your soup or congee bowl.
• Pour the congee over the top.
• Place the cilantro on top.
• Add a couple dashes of Golden Mountain or soy sauce.
• Mix all and enjoy!

Any leftovers you have can be incorporated into congee, so this is a good way to not only use stuff from your garden or local farmer’s market, but also a great way to clear out your fridge.

Cheers!

chefRob