Brown Congee
Brown rice congee w/ sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and a soft boiled egg (optional):
***If making this vegan omit the egg.
***Add fried tofu in place if alternative protein is wanted. See bottom for Fried Tofu recipe
Ingredients:
Brown Rice Congee (recipe below)
Sauteed Mushrooms (recipe below)
Caramelized onions (recipe below)
Baked Broccoli (recipe below)
Eggs (recipe below)
Hot chili oil
Black pepper
Red pepper flakes
Low Sodium Tamari
Assembly Instructions:
In the base of a bowl ladle desired amount of congee
Top congee with desired amount of sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions
Slice an egg in half and nest the egg in the veggies
Drizzle a bit of hot chili oil and soy sauce around the sides of the bowl so the congee marinates in it a bit while you are eating it
Sprinkle desired amount of black pepper and red pepper flakes over the eggs
Enjoy!
Brown Rice Congee:
Ingredients:
¾ cup short grain brown rice (important that it is short grain)
¼ cup short grain sushi white rice (important that you have both for the overall texture of the congee)
6-8 cups of chicken stock or veg stock (can make with half water and half stock or just all water but add a teaspoon of salt to the water at least!)
Can use store bought broth, below is a recipe for homemade.
Cooking instructions:
Put both rice types and broth in a pot on high heat
Bring to boil and turn down to medium.
Simmer for 1-1.5 hours stirring occasionally after an hour so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom.
Rice should have obviously thickened and much of the liquid evaporated. If it is too thin let it simmer a bit more. Know that it will thicken with cooling as well.
Cool for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.
***one thing that I do sometimes that is easier only if you have the time/are already making a whole chicken, is after roasting a whole chicken I will take the drippings and add them to the congee water to make a richer bodied broth. I usually only do this with water not broth so I can save on broth but you can do whatever your heart desires. Usually the conversion is a cup or less of drippings to 6-8 cups of liquid so the fat really gets mixed in.***
Homemade broth: adjust ingredients for amount you’re trying to make. This makes between 6-8 cups.
***If making this vegan omit the chicken and add 1/2 cup of dried mushrooms, ideally porcini and/or shiitake.
1 Carrot peeled and cut into 3” pieces
2 Celery stalks washed and cut into 3” pieces
1 tblsp kosher salt
1 tblsp peppercorns
2 Chicken thighs on bone
½ Brown/yellow Onion peeled and quartered
3-5 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
Optional if you have them: 3-5 thyme sprigs, 1 single bay leaf, 1 single star anise
6-8 cups of water
depending on what pot you are using
make sure there is enough water to cover all of the things in the pot
Boil for 20-30 minutes for a quick boil up to a couple hours if you have that kind of time.
Drain and sieve broth.
(save chicken and pull when cooled. Can save other items for your own purposes if desired)
Return sieved broth to pot.
If you would like less fat to your broth you will have to wait for the broth to cool and skim the congealed fat off of the top. This will happen quicker in the refrigerator so putting in jars overnight might be the best course of action. **though personally I feel that congee is better with a little fat in the broth as it makes for a deeper flavor
Caramelized Onions:
**This will take a little bit of time, don’t rush it.
Ingredients:
½ Brown/yellow onion (like the other half of the one from the broth you just made!) or even better a sweet onion
Several tablespoons of butter or vegan butter
Salt
Sugar or other sweetener (optional)
Cooking Instructions:
Top and tail onion and peel outer layer. Cut onion in half. Cut onion into slices vertically, that is to say your knife should face top to tail on the onion and you should slice your onion as thin as you possibly can.
Put several tablespoons of butter or vegan butter in a pan heated on Med-low heat.
Add onions to the pan and mix well so they are all coated. Let them sit for several minutes at a time while they cook. Stir often but not too often.
They will start to get translucent, sprinkle a little bit of salt over them, mix well and continue cooking.
When they start to brown slightly if you are using a regular onion not a sweet onion you will want to add a sprinkle of sugar or a drizzle of sweetener of some sort and mix well. This is not necessary with a sweet onion as they have natural sugars in them, but you can add more sugar if you want a deeper flavor or a deeper brown color.
When onions are a deep caramel brown they are finished.
Sauteed Mushrooms:
Ingredients:
Mushrooms of choice
Hot chili oil or sesame oil
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Garlic Salt or Granules
Onion Powder
Cooking Instructions:
Cut mushrooms as you like. I personally like mine quartered so they maintain some structure and texture. However if you do not like this texture then cutting them very thinly is my second favorite way.
Put some hot chili oil or regular sesame oil in a pan on medium heat
Put mushrooms in pan and mix immediately otherwise the oil will soak into only some of the mushrooms and they will not cook evenly.
Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional) and other seasonings, stir well.
Check mushrooms after about two minutes and see if they need a tad bit more oil
Cook mushrooms in oil stirring occasionally until desired brownness.
You CAN use ¼ cup of the chicken broth you made above to do this step if you are avoiding oil. But know that they will yield a different texture entirely.
Baked Broccoli:
Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400*
Cut broccoli florets into flatish pieces and cut outer skin off of stem and use the inside of that too
Get a sheetpan ready with alum foil or parchment paper
Spread broccoli out on sheetpan and glug some oil on them sifting desired amount of salt and pepper on them and mixing well with hands until the broccoli is evenly coated
Careful not to oversalt at this stage
Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how much broccoli you are baking at one time. Broccoli will be slightly browned and crispy on the top and carmelized on the bottoms.
Soy eggs:
Recipe adapted from Food52
Ingredients:
¼ cup of warm water
1 tblsp sugar or liquid sweetener
2 tblsp rice vinegar
½ cup low sodium soy sauce or low sodium tamari
6 large eggs
Cooking Instructions:
Put a pot of water on the stove on high heat to boil
Take a spoon or a slotted spoon and gently lower eggs into the boiling water.
Cook for exactly 6 minutes and turn the water off.
Immediately drain and fill pot with cold water. Drain again and repeat until water stays cold. Alternatively you can have a bowl of ice water set aside to add the eggs to so they don’t cook anymore.
While waiting for the water to boil:
stir the sugar into the warm water to dissolve it
Add the vinegar and soy sauce to the water and mix well.
Peel the eggs, rinse and add to a jar.
Pour the soy mixture over the eggs and close the jar.
Soak eggs for at least an hour for a light color, up to 5 or 6 for a darker color and saltier flavor.
Take the eggs out of the mix and put in a separate jar or container to store. They will last several weeks in the fridge. (I’ll be honest I often leave mine in the marinade until ready to eat)
Keep the jar of marinade up to a month and reuse on new eggs!
Fried Tofu:
Ingredients:
Extra Firm Tofu
Corn Starch
Oil
Salt
Cooking Instructions:
Drain tofu and press between paper towels several times. Put a heavy item on top of the tofu while draining so more water presses out.
Slice tofu into desired size and shape. Thickness of each piece should be around a half inch.
Dredge each piece in corn starch. You can eliminate this step if you are trying to stay low carb, but it does help crisp the tofu quite a bit.
If you have a deep fryer or an air fryer then feel free to use it. If not:
Heat a pan over medium-high heat.
Coat the bottom of a pan with oil, doesn’t need to be deep but you don't want the tofu touching bare pan.
Two or three minutes in you will want to check, and flip the pieces adding more oil if needed if you went scant the first time.
Take piece off after another two or three minutes and drain on a paper towel, or tea towel if you are trying for zero waste. Salt at this time. DON'T FORGET TO SALT. Just a pinch should be fine over the batch.
Add to your favorite dish!
**Alternative: press tofu as described above and cut into size shapes you want, skip corn starch, bake the tofu at 400* for 10-15 minutes turning over and baking another 5-10 minutes.