← Commonplace
Recipe
Sunday congee
The slow, forgiving pot I start before I've fully woken up.
- slow
- comfort
- rice
Congee is less a recipe than a ratio and some patience. It doesn't need watching, it doesn't mind being early or late, and it turns a cup of rice and a quiet morning into something that feels like care.
The ratio
- 1 cup rice
- 8–9 cups water or light stock
- A thumb of ginger, sliced
- Salt, to finish
How
- Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Add everything but the salt to a heavy pot.
- Bring to a boil, then drop to the lowest simmer your stove can hold. Lid ajar.
- Stir whenever you walk past — every fifteen minutes or so — for about an hour, until it's soft and collapsed.
- Salt at the end. Top with whatever's around: scallions, chili oil, a jammy egg, leftover roast chicken.
Some mornings the whole pleasure of it is just standing at the stove, stirring, not thinking about anything in particular.