Brown Rice Congee
Brown rice congee is one of our favourite go-to meals. Super warming, nourishing and feels like a big warm hug. As the rice cooks for such a long time, it breaks down and is super easy to digest. Perfect for sensitive tummies or for those days when we're feeling under the weather. Congee makes a wonderful, versatile base where the toppings and add-ons are virtually endless, meaning you can have very different meals night after night with very little prep time and effort.
Ingredients:
1 cup Biodynamic Rain-fed Brown Rice
2 pcs organic wakame
3 garlic cloves, chopped
4 spring onions, sliced
2 litres water, bone broth or dashi stock
2 Tbs organic tamari
1 Tbs organic miso (shiro miso in the warmer months and genmai in the cooler months)
1 Tbs grated or sliced ginger
Toast the rice in a saucepan until fragrant. Pour water/broth/stock over rice, add wakame, garlic, spring onion, give everything a gentle stir, cover and cook on lowest heat all day. Occasionally give it a stir to check that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. I like to put this on after breakfast and let it cook all day, so pick a day when you know you’ll be home all day to make this one. Once you reach the desired consistency, add tamari, stir through and turn off heat. Prepare miso by dissolving miso paste in 1.5 cups of hot water in a small saucepan. Add ginger and heat over medium heat but never boil.
To serve, spoon congee into bowls and drizzle some of the miso over the top. Add a spoonful of ghee and sprinkle with gomasio. As noted before, the topping potential for congee is endless. Some inspiration - soft boiled eggs; shredded chicken; fried shallots; chopped nori seaweed; swap out the ghee for some toasted sesame oil ..or better yet, add our favourite Chotto Motto Crispy Chilli Oil (you might just have to add this no matter what combination of toppings you choose!); steamed or stir fried veg; shiitake mushrooms soaked and sliced; arame seaweed that’s been soaked in water for 20 min. Our sticky hoisin pork is just divine thick sliced and served on a bed of congee (link to recipe please). Any combination of the above works really well.
Double the recipe and have enough congee for multiple meals and change up the toppings and additions, and you’ll have interesting meals for a big chunk of the week ahead. You can also freeze batches for when you need a quick meal for the day ahead. Versatile, nourishing and delicious. Also the perfect postpartum meal for when you next visit a mum and new bub!