Congee Bar

Recipe
Written By Mae Chan

Welcome to my current ideal easy meal for a crowd, and also I don’t know why there aren’t a million congee bar restaurants. When they do appear, remember you heard it here first.

Ingredients

  • White rice

  • Dried shitake mushrooms

  • Mushroom powder if it’s not as flavorful as you like

  • Green onions to garnish

  • Salt + White pepper to taste

  • Endless toppings per your choosing

Soak dried shitake mushrooms: I put 6-8 mushrooms in a tall mason jar, fill with boiling water and screw the lid on so the mushrooms can absorb the water. Keep that soaking liquid to add umami flavor to the congee stock. [Note: In the olden days, there would be a little dirt that sunk to the bottom so don’t eat that. Unless you want to.]

Boil water + shitake soaking liquid + mushroom powder if needed in a stock pot. Add white rice and stir to prevent sticking and clumping. Bring the water back up to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes or until the grains are fully opened up.

Season and garnish to taste.

Then the truly genius part begins: you can create the topping bar of your dreams or keep it very simple. Either way it’s so easy to accommodate most dietary restrictions (as long as they can eat rice and mushrooms).

Mae Chan
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