Congee of Serenity

Hi. You're probably wondering why I've decided to call this the Congee of Serenity. It's because this is one of those dishes that feels like a warm, blanketing hug in a bowl. Delicious with a calming effect. I had once given this congee to a local German boy, a school friend of my daughter, and he said "Das schmeckt friedlich" - this tastes peaceful.

This recipe was taught by my mother and it's great to have at any time of the day. Simply nourishing and tasty to make when it's cold and dreary outside, or when a loved one is unwell or going through a breakup. This can even be made for weaning babies and young children in which you just need to adjust the salt.

In this guide, I will show you step by step with some tips on how to make it. Let's go!

Essential spices:

• 2 inches of cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 3-4 green cardamoms
• 5-6 cloves

The aromatics and ingredients:

• an inch of fresh ginger sliced.
• 2 garlic cloves sliced.
• 1 small onion sliced.
• a celery stick
• 1 lemongrass (optional, but if you can find it, makes it tastes so good)
• 1 chili pepper (optional, you can omit this if you don't like it spicy).
• 1 stock cube
• Any boned in meat you prefer, chicken, beef , etc..
• Crispy fried onions
• 3 tbsp of oil
• Also 2 cups of cooked rice. Any kind of rice will do.
• fresh coriander leaves/ cilantro, spring onions/ scallions, parsley leaves for garnish.

*Here as a challenge to make things speedier, I have used some ready cooked rice. Typically you would use uncooked rice that have been soaked in water for hours. If you just have uncooked rice, use from 1/2 Cup to 1 Cup.

1. Start with boiling a liter of water in a kettle.
2. Heat up the oil on medium heat. Once hot, add in your essential spices. Cook it for just a minute until fragrant.
3. Throw in your onion, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and cook it to a light golden brown shade. (the lemongrass doesn't get browned, so don't worry about it)
4. Once browned, add in your boned meat and fry it for a few minutes. Here I have used a piece of leftover chicken from a barbecue. This is a good opportunity to use up leftover meat or even rotisserie chicken is perfect too.

1. Next, add in your boiled water gently. Then chuck in the stick of celery, chili and stock cube. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, put the lid on and reduce the heat to medium low. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes. Now go do something else while you wait.
2. Timer off, check for taste if needed with salt and pepper. Here I would also like to add a pinch or 1 tsp of sugar to harmonize the flavors.
3. With a strainer, strain the broth into another pot. Save and shred the meat and set aside for later.

1. Stir in the cooked rice. The broth should cover the rice an inch or two. Try and eyeball it. Now bring it to the boil then close the lid and set the heat to medium low. Put a timer on for 10-15 minutes and leave it alone.
2. The congee will look ready when you see the rice looking more plump and the broth thickened. Stir and check for taste. Leave it cooking for a few minutes more with the lid off. If it gets too dry, add in more of the broth or water.
3. To make the congee more smooth, use an immersion hand blender. If you haven't got one, you can put the rice in a regular blender with some of the broth and then cooking it in with the rest of the broth back in step 1 of this section.
4. Assembling time. Congee in a bowl first, chicken shreds, crispy onions, sorry not pictured here, ran out of it so here are some crispy balls instead. Crispy onions is highly recommended though. Then some sliced pickled chilies, and put whichever fresh garnish you like . To finish off, I have added some chili oil and a squeeze of lime/lemon juice. But you know, choices for toppings are endless and it's up to you what you decide to have it with. The congee is your blank canvas.

And now it's done. Thank-you!