How to make superfast congee
Posted in 30-minutes recipe, chicken, Chinese, Featured Articles, How to, mushroom, porridge
Congee or porridge (粥) is not only a staple food among the Chinese community but also one of the first few baby foods recommended for weaning. It is a versatile dish which can be easily prepared and served with added ingredients like fish, chicken, pork or veggies to enhance the flavour and increase its nutritional value. The texture and consistency of the congee is determined by three main factors which are the type of rice used, the rice-water ratio and the time spent in cooking.
My family prefers Cantonese-style porridge which has a smooth and silky texture. It normally requires 1 to 2 hours cooking time to achieve this consistency regardless of what cooking utensil is used. Therefore, I will never cook congee if I need to whip up a quick-fix meal. However, that was before I discovered a new method on how to produce congee with smooth and silky texture in just half an hour. In fact, the rice will turn into congee in merely 15 minutes!! There are no complicated steps involved in my recipe. It’s simple enough for everyone to replicate at home. All you need is to take note of the important pointers that I had listed in my recipe at PAGE 2 to ensure a bowl of silky smooth congee in a short time. Below are a few of them:
- Soak the rice and blend it into fine grain so it will cut down the cooking time by 2-3 times.
- Maintain the same boiling level throughout the entire cooking process to speed up the breaking up process for the rice .
- Use only short grain rice such as Japanese sushi rice as this variety will produce more starch to thicken the congee. Long grain rice such as Thai fragrant rice and Basmathi rice are less starchy and may not yield the same result.
This superfast congee recipe is just my quick version to whip up a Cantonese-style congee. Thus, it may not meet the expectation of those who are looking for a perfect Hong Kong style congee recipe that is served in five-star Chinese restaurant. But, if you have a sudden craving for congee or urgently need to feed your kid’s empty stomach in a very short time (where no other alternative is available), then this recipe is definitely the right solution for you. The suggested servings for this congee are chicken balls with shredded shitake mushrooms. You can find the recipe for chicken balls at PAGE 3.
Other reading reference:
- Cooking porridge by homemade chinese soup
- 太极米浆粥 (for Chinese readers)
Updated on 7 Oct 2013: Another quick method to make congee with frozen rice within 15 minutes. Refer to THIS POST.
>>> Click on PAGE 2 below for How to make superfast congee recipe with step by step photos…………..
>>> Click on PAGE 3 below for Chicken Balls recipe………………………..
This is definitely helpful! We love congee and now I can prepare that in just 30 minute, that is a must try! 🙂
KidsDreamWork: So glad you like it! Do let me know how it turns out. Thanks! 😉
I love cantones congee but my son don’t anymore. I have been giving him baby porridge since young and yet now, when I ask him whether he prefer rice or porridge. He will choose rice.
Evelyn Ng: So strange! My son also prefers rice more than porridge even though he is not really picky on the latter. 😉
This is similar to what I did when I cooked for my son when he was 6-12 months old. Instead of soaking and blend, I pre-washed the mixed eco brown and normal rice, dried them under the sun, then dry-blend to small particles, store them. When I need to cook porridge, I just heat-up the chicken stock I have prepared and scoop in the fine grain rice, boil until they are smooth. Super fast too 🙂
Craft Passion: What a co-incidence! I did the same for my son too but I only cooked brown rice porridge. Hahaha! 😉
I enjoy a variety of congee – Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew…
Your congee looks like the perfect Cantonese congee 🙂
Tigerfish: Thanks!!
my daughter and I loves congee!
Peachkins: So nice that both of you have the same interest in food. 😉
Fantastic! It gives me a smooth + fast porridge! 😀
Alice: Thanks! It saves us lot of unnecessary stress, agreed?
My hubby is a big fan of Cantonese-style porridge, nearly have once or twice a week. These quick tips are fantastic and helpful.
Christine: Thanks! Glad that they are helpful to you. 😉
I’ve never had congee but given my utter love of oatmeal, I’m sure I would like this savory version! Thanks for sharing.
Joanne: It’s my pleasure to share. Yeah, this savoury version is a great one. Do give it a try! 😉
Very really helpful! Thanks for sharing, now i can have congee for breakfast without having to wake up early in the morning
Jun: You’re welcome! Yeah, you can definitely have more time to rest if you use this method to make your congee. 😉
Nice! I am making one right now for my sick daughter.
Ching (LCOM): Thanks! Hope your daughter will recover soon. 😉
Yum.. I am a big big fan of congee! This super fast congee is great… and I think at this time of the year, with the early chill in the UK, I would appreciate it so much! Thanks!!
Lee Mei (MCH): You’re welcome, my friend! Hope you will like it and looking forward to your kind feedback! 😉
Hmm…this is my type of porridge. 🙂
Little Inbox: That’s great!! 😉
wah your jook is so smooth, love it this way. super fast and super good 😉
Noobcook: Thanks!! Give it a try! 😉
We love Cantonese style congee the most too and yes, soaking to me makes a big difference..thanks for all the tips 🙂
Jen (TOH): You’re welcome! It’s my pleasure to share. 😉
Wish that I see this earlier … I cook Chicken Congee today 🙂 Thanks for sharing the tips …
Amy Ong: Thanks for dropping by and your kind comments. Your chicken congee looks yum! No wonder your daughter loves it so much!
fast, convenient, healthy and yummy!!!
My Taste Heaven: Yeah, you said it all!! 😉
this is a fantastic idea. i love making porridge on weeknights, when there is too little time to prepare a full meal.
Masterofbooks: Thanks! Hope it suits your palate! 😉
I bought a Hamilton Beach food processer and put water and soaked rice in it. It was half fulled. Some liquid came out between the bowl & the lid. I checked to make sure everything was tightly closed and started it again. Same thing. They are not a tight fit. Is it common? I want to return it back to the store. How do you think?
Wendy: Yes, I think you should check with the store. If it is under warranty period, you may request for a replacement. But before you go, please refer to your manual to see whether the attachment is fixed correctly. Hope this helps. 😉
Thank you. This is my first use of a food processor. I just bought it. Read some review today and found that this is a cheaply made machine. The lid do not seal well. I bought it for its low price and also for the fact that you can reverse the lid to save storage room. I definitely will rturn it to the store.
Wendy: You’re always welcome! Hope you will get a replacement soon from the store. 😉
Thank you. I open and close the lid several times to make sure that the lid is position correctly. Liquid spills out around the perimeter of the lid when the food processing is chopping up the soaked rice and enough liquid to make a mess. I can definitely return it. I will buy another one. Hope I do not encounter the same thing on another machine.
Wendy: I think your experiment is enough to justify for a replacement or refund from the store. Yeah, it’s better to get a new one from another brand. 😉
I made the congee and my son likes it haha probably so hungry! Even though I grind the soaked rice, I still stirred and cooked for half an hour. Another mistake I made is putting the chicken ball too early and becomes minced chicken..due to my vigorous stirring! 😛
Evelyn Ng: That’s such a great news!! I’m so glad to hear that. I think the porridge must be super yummy after it’s well blended with the minced chicken! It’s correct to stir and cook the porridge for half an hour if you want a smooth texture. 😉
There is nothing superfast about this recipe.
Thanks for dropping by and your kind comment. I’m sorry if this recipe doesn’t meet your definition for “superfast”. However, for me, it’s indeed superfast when it takes just half an hour to make a smooth and delicious bowl of cantonese-style congee compared the usual 2 hours plus using the normal cooking pot method. That’s 75% saving in term of time!!
I agree with Tay.
there is nothing superfast about your recipe.
first you say to rinse the rice and soak it for an hour. then take more time to blend it before you even start cooking.
add up the time and I am sure it just took almost 2 hours.
Princess: In this post, my highlight is the cooking time between my method and the normal method. Soaking is just a precooking step. You can still do other tasks while soaking the rice. Blending only takes me 5 minutes. If you think the blending process is time-consuming, then please stay-tune with my upcoming post which I will share how to cook quick congee with frozen rice. 😉
hello it’s me again. 😉
just want to ask about step 3. why do we need to add the blended rice 2-3 batches?
thanks
Kelly: This is to avoid the blended rice from forming any lumps. If you are not fast enough to stir them, you will get lumps easily at the initially stage. 😉
Hi LK, thanks for all your sharing, I have been adding on to my ‘sure win’ recipes for my family since learning from you.
Just a few things to check with you. Why do we need to add a little oil when blending the rice. Also why do we need to add the rice and stock in batches?
Lastly, I hope to invest in an oven to try your baking recipes. Can you advise me on what to look out for when selecting an oven? I am absolutely clueless… Thanks in advance!
Yixi: Thanks for your wonderful comment. Practice makes perfect, nothing is impossible. If the ground rice grain is coated with oil, it will avoid any lumps from forming during cooking and also enhance the smoothness of the congee. Adding rice and stock in batches is to speed up the breaking up process for the rice grain.
For oven size, the bigger the better as it will provide you with more capacities to bake/ roast/ grill. Choose a reliable brand with good after sales service and warranty. Other things to consider are: the quality of the material used to make the oven, fan/ without fan and heat source. Hope it helps! 😉
Thank you for your prompt reply and advice :))
Yixi: You’re always welcome!! 😉
[…] time so that the rice fully breaks down and you no longer see the granules of rain. NOTE: Check out Food 4 Tots’ tips on how to make Congee quickly, when you don’t want or have time to spend 2 1/2-4 […]
I recieved this email and I am wondering if this will work. Doesn’t sound right to me that is why I am asking for your opinion. lols ….It goes like this :We usually have to cook congee for at least 45 minutes before you can enjoy it. However, this method will get the job done in 10 minutes!
The secret is: First put a cup of rice, properly washed in the freezer and refrigerate them to rice icing in the freezer. To cook congee, just put the frozen rice in boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you will have a pot of nicely cooked soft congee.
Its principle is: After freezing, the structure of a grain of rice produces tiny spherical holes with enhanced water absorption. When put in hot water, the rice grains become loose, and the starch in the grain of rice begin to turn into a paste like which will turn into congee in a very short time.
Try it yourself. Once you have done once, you will store a small box of frozen rice in the freezer to make quick congee for breakfast, or for supper before going to sleep at night.
Very convenient indeed!
Sheila: I have read about this method before over the net but haven’t tried it before. The reason is that I’m not sure whether this method will affect the nutritional value of the rice grain. Anyway, there are many people including one of my blogger friends have tried and tested it. If you can read Chinese and understand Cantonese, please check out this blog post and the video clip to learn more about it – http://bit.ly/10W21MZ. Hope your query is answered. 😉
Yum: Preferably yes if you want to enjoy tasty chicken balls. You can marinate the chicken balls first before starting to cook the congee. 😉
This is brilliant; thank you!!
Jam: Glad you like this idea! Thank you! 🙂
This works perfectly. I needed a quick cold remedy and didn’t want to wait a few hours. I used brown jasmine rice and added a truckload of minced ginger and garlic. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Mary: Glad you like this recipe! I just used this method a few days ago. 🙂
Hi thanks for this recipe. I tried it and the good news is my son ate a whole bowl of porridge! But my porridge seems rather liquid and starchy/sticky. Am I doing it wrong? Or is that ok? I use Japanese rice as I’m Japanese.
Eva: Glad that the recipe works for your son! If the porridge is supposed to be slight thick and starchy. If you want your porridge to be less liquid, reduce the amount of water used. Japanese rice gives more starch to the porridge. That’s fine. Hope your doubt is cleared. 🙂