Porridge/ congee is a common substitute for rice among the Chinese. It is a preferred meal especially during hot weather or when a person’s body is heaty. It can be cooked in cooking pot, rice cooker, crock pot, slow cooker, claypot or pressured cooker. When my son was younger, I like to cook porridge using a slow-cooker. Although it took a longer time, the texture of the porridge is smoother and more viscous. At the same time I can attend to other housework and not need to worry whether the porridge would burn. However, after I moved over to Singapore, I like to cook my porridge using a claypot or cooking pot because it is faster. Sometimes, when time is a constraint, I would boil millet porridge as it cooks faster than rice porridge.
According to chetday.com, millet is a highly nutritious, healthful and versatile grain. It is the 6th most important grain in the world. Due to this, I always add a small amount of millet to my porridge or rice.
Today I will share with you the millet porridge I cooked few weeks ago. On that day, my son who had just recovered from his fever, was having a sore throat. I brought him to see the pediatrician. It was extremely late by the time we reached home. So I decided to cook millet porridge which is not only suitable for his condition but also serves as a quick, easy and healthy lunch. To make porridge more nutritious and tasty, I added a variety of available ingredients into the porridge.
Below is my own version of millet porridge. I didn’t measure the ingredients as I was in a rush that day. I just did a “mix and match” for all the ingredients on hand.
Ingredients:
Millet
Rice
Pumpkin puree
Sunflower seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Baby sweet corns
Cherry tomatoes
Snowpeas
Ham
Seasonings:
Salt
White pepper powder
Sesame oil
Other recommended ingredients:
Grains : quinoa, buckwheat, green beans (mung beans), red beans, barley
Vegetables: carrot, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, leafly vegetables, broccoli (florets or stems), cauliflowers, green peas, edamame (Japanese soy bean), fresh lily bulbs, sweetcorns
Meat : fish, pork, chicken
Others : huai san (Chinese yam), wolfberries
Methods:
1) Wash rice and millet. Fill pot with water approx 2x the amount of the grain. Reduce water if using crock pot or slow cooker. Bring water and grain to boil.
2) Stir occasionally to prevent the rice/ grain from sticking to the bottom. Add water from time to time. Use medium to low heat. Cook until the rice / grain break down and achieve the consistency level you want.
3) Add in other ingredients and cook according to the required cooking time.
4) Add in seasoning. Turn off the flame and serve.
Other recommended recipes:
–kiddy porridge
–claypot chicken rice
–sushi rolls
Hi friend, Millet porridge, yum yum…. I also boiled Millet porridge when my son was young… tks for your recommendation, even I, liked it very much!
Millet? I’m not familiar of millet at all… Do restaurants serve millet? Would love to try 🙂
mmmmmm i love porridge 🙂
My hubby likes porridge very much. He would prefer to eat porridge rather than a bowl of rice. haha…
Hi Bits of Life ‘n’ Taste,
Try to add some when cooking ur rice. I do that everyday. 😉
Hi Selba,
Haven’t seen it in the restaurant. U can find millet from the organic shop. 😉
Hi Pearl,
Oic, u r a “porridge” girl! Hehehe!
Hi Christine,
As what I know, some Chinese (esp the older generation) like to eat porridge as breakfast every morning. Do u often cook porridge for your family?
What a hearty and tasty meal. The photo makes my mouth water.
i see a very detailed review and recipe here!well done!
Have not tried millet before! Looks so colourful and yummy. I’m sure tots love it. 🙂
this is new to me.. 🙂
Hi Pam,
Tks for your kind comments.
Hi Desmond-t,
Tks for dropping by and your kind words.
Hi Dora,
Yes, tot like me luv it too! Hehehe!
Hi NKOTB,
Give it a try. 😉
This sounds so healthy and warm! I’ve only ever tried millet flour, but I’d love to try this for breakfast! How would you describe the taste?
Hi Sophie,
What a good idea for breakfast! The taste is quite blunt. Similar to barley. You can add either sweet(dried fruits, raisins, seeds)or salty (ham, egg, bacon) ingredients to enhance the flavours. 😉
Pumpkin seeds can b cooked with porridge also?!
Hi Little Prince’s mummy,
The pumpkin seeds I used are the dried type not the fresh ones found in the pumpkin. The packet for these seeds contains the following info:
“Pumpkin seeds (kernels) can be eaten raw or roasted as a snack. It is also used as an ingredient for baking of bread, cookies and health bars. Toasted pumpkin kernels can be added for salads, cereal, yoghurt and ice-cream.”
You may try the homemade snack bars I made using pumpkin seeds. 😉
Hi, I also add millet to the porridge for my girl. I wash the millet before use but I wonder if there is a need to do so. Do you wash them before use?
Mei Ling: Yes, I rinse my millet before cooking. An excerpt from this link (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=53), “Like all grains, before cooking millet rinse it thoroughly under running water and then remove any dirt or debris that you may find.” Hope this helps. 😉
I would really like to try this. Do you have any other millet recipes you can email me?
Thanks so much!
Linda: I don’t have any other millet recipes at the moment. So sorry about that. 😉
Thanks for this recipe & the mixture veg i can use.
My Boy just turn 2. Do u think he is suitable to take ham? Where u buy ham & what type is yi table
For above recipe ?
Julia: I don’t recommend ham for your boy at his age as it’s a processed meat. Maybe you can add some fresh minced meat, chicken or fish. 😉