Jook

By Mark Bittman

Jook
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
2 hours 30 minutes
Rating
4(377)
Comments
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I first encountered jook, also known as congee, in Hong Kong at dawn after a very long night. I was steered to an anonymous little place, where, I am quite sure, I was not the only person with a headache. It was there that I discovered that this savory Chinese rice porridge was among the world's best breakfasts, especially after a night of indulgence.

It is transcendent stuff. You might think of it as Chinese risotto, though infinitely less pretentious. It is delightfully creamy, forgiving in its preparation and variable beyond belief.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 1cup short-grain rice
  • 2cups chicken stock, preferably homemade, or water
  • 13-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
  • ¼pound slab bacon, optional
  • Soy sauce or salt to taste
  • ¼cup crispy cooked bacon, minced, optional
  • ¼cup minced scallions
  • ½cup roasted peanuts, optional
  • Sesame oil for drizzling, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Wash rice, and put it in a stock pot with chicken stock or water. Place over high heat until stock boils, then add about 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, and turn heat to low. Partly cover pot, simmer for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary (probably about 2 cups more).

  2. Step 2

    Add ginger and slab bacon, and simmer for an hour more or so. Jook should have a porridgelike consistency. If it becomes very thick, add water. When done, jook will be soupy and creamy, like loose oatmeal.

  3. Step 3

    Remove slab bacon, and serve jook in individual bowls. Season with salt or soy sauce, then garnish with minced bacon, scallions and peanuts. Drizzle with sesame oil if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5
377 user ratings
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Comments

Jan

Actually, "jook" is the Cantonese word for Chinese rice porridge. He is using the correct word. The word "congee" finds its origins in Tamil and other Indian languages.

Jada

Yum yum! Quick thing though: Jook is the Korean name for rice porridge while congee is Chinese rice porridge.
I think this distinction might be worth making - I was a little confused as to why you were talking about Chinese rice porridge in your intro while the recipe name is Korean! :)

The way my family makes jook is with long strips of scallions, lots of ginger, and chicken for sick days.
Sriracha on top is always welcome as well.

T

For my family, this is comfort food, and soothing when you're sick. The add-ins are a must. It's tradition for a post-Thanksgiving lunch, get the carcass in the stock pot and make a big pot for the weekend. We'll also do chicken or fish...Add ins vary by taste: green onions, gingko nuts, bean curd sheets, thousand year old eggs, shredded red ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, preserved turnip, white pepper...shredded roast duck meat sounds good, too.

CW

Good recipe. I chop up the bacon and eat it with the porridge itself. I also add century eggs - delicious.

Yas

Thank you for this excellent recipe - delicious, simple, and versatile.

Maria Eng

While short grain rice can often be one portion of the rice used in restaurant recipes, my family typically uses the same rice we would eat with dinner, which is a medium grain. I add a knob of peeled ginger the size of the tip of my thumb, whacked to crush but not pulverise it (you want to be able to fish it out later so that’s not all you taste), and a glug of high quality vegetable oil, which helps the mouthfeel with plain jook (or so my MIL said).

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