Breakfast of champions
/Hello my loves,
As late autumn sets decidedly in, the cool mornings ask more of my breakfast game. As a crisp and chilly day gets underway, I need depth. I need comfort. Sometimes, I need a little intensity. I need a grounding hit of savouriness that anchors me from the inside out, warming me up and settling me down and setting me up for the day. To find it, I turn to China, or India, or Vietnam. To places that understand the power of savoury carbs straight out of the gate. To a steaming bowl of kitchari smothered in ghee, or a fat hank of noodles swimming in broth, fragrant with chilli and herbs. Or to congee.
Ah congee, my breakfast amour. So seductive, so silky-smooth, so savoury. I fall in love again every year. Congee is essentially a rice porridge, which is very easy to make, and very rewarding to devour. It comes in many permutations – seafood can feature, or it can be vegetarian, but I like to make it with chicken. It’s really incredibly simple: rice is cooked very slowly in broth, with a couple of flavourings, and a few pieces of chicken. As it cooks, the rice breaks down, and the chicken shreds itself throughout the mix, resulting in a deeply savoury porridge that’s creamy, smooth and endlessly comforting.
As serving protocols go, the possibilities are endless. Today I offer you a version topped with soft-boiled eggs and Wynnie’s pickled mushrooms. Wynnie was one of the indomitable forces of Hearth & Soul’s kitchen, cooking and creating and nurturing alongside me in that temple to all things delicious. She remains a very dear friend, who opened my eyes to the depth and complexity of Asian cuisine, and taught me, among many great lessons, the value of the pickled mushroom. As it happens, we’re coming into wild mushroom season here in New South Wales. If you’re in the area, a rugged-up mushroom hunt might just be one of the funnest things you do this autumn. Or of course, you can opt for farmers’ market or shop-bought shrooms. Either way, the piquant tartness of the mushrooms paired with the deep comfort of congee is a combination that never fails to delight me.
Congee is one of those great staples that reheats incredibly well, meaning it can be made in advance, then sit happily in your fridge, awaiting a quick bubble in a saucepan to warm your weekday mornings right up. And so my loves, I leave you with my ode to an autumn morning: comforting chicken congee with Wynnie’s pickled mushrooms.
Chicken congee with Wynnie's pickled mushrooms
Makes 6 serves
Ingredients
For the congee
2 ½ cups jasmine rice, washed
4 free range chicken drumsticks
2 litres chicken stock, make your own – see end of recipe (seriously people, DO THIS)
2.25 litres water
8cm piece of ginger, sliced
10 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 teaspoons salt
6 eggs
For Wynnie’s pickled mushrooms
300g mushrooms, thickly sliced
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
4 teaspoons caster sugar
To serve (all optional)
Seame oil
Soy sauce
Chilli oil
Sliced spring onions
There are two ways you can make the congee, on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. I do mine in a slow cooker because it’s super easy and requires no thought at all. For slow cooker congee, place all congee ingredients except the eggs in a slow cooker and cook on high for 6 hours. Give it a good healthy stir, and remove the chicken bones, making sure to leave all chicken meat in the pot.
For stove-top congee, place all congee ingredients except the eggs in a large saucepan, bring to the boil, then turn the heat right down and simmer very slowly, stirring frequently, for about 1 ½ hours, or until the rice has broken down and created a porridge-like consistency. Remove chicken bones, making sure to leave all chicken meat in the pot. Give it all a final healthy stir to get it nice and creamy.
For the pickled mushrooms, place all ingredients in a saucepan, and top with enough water to cover the mushrooms (around 400-500ml). Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and cool. You can reheat them to serve, which I prefer, or just use them cold.
To soft-boil the eggs, place them into a pot of already-boiling water and simmer for 5 minutes, then place into cold water to cool. Peel and slice in half.
To serve, ladle out a healthy bowlful of congee. Top with a halved boiled egg, some pickled mushrooms, and some of the pickle juice. Drizzle over sesame oil, soy sauce and chilli oil to taste, and sprinkle with spring onions.
To reheat congee, loosen with a little water before bringing to the boil in a saucepan.
🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓🐓
Quick chicken stock
500g free range chicken wings
One medium onion, skin on, sliced
Four cloves garlic, skins on, chopped in half
Any vege ends you have lying about
Place everything in a pot and cover with 2 litres water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down and cook on a low simmer, covered, for at least an hour, but preferably 2-4 hours. Strain, and your stock is ready to use. It doesn't matter if you have a little less that 2 litres to use in the congee, just top up with water to make the 2 litre quantity required. I save the chicken meat either for my spoilt cats, or to crisp up in a little oil and use in fried rice.
Slow cooker chicken stock
I use this method to make larger batches of stock, which I then freeze in 750ml - 1litre quantities, so I always have some on hand. Cooking the stock for longer provides a richer broth, so I usually make it this way, unless I’m caught short, in which case I use the quick method above.
One pasture-raised chicken frame (carcass)
500g free range chicken wings or chicken feet (optional - gives a richer stock)
Two large handfuls onion skins, which I save in the freezer (you can substitute one large whole onion, sliced)
10 garlic cloves, or a large handful of garlic skins if you've been saving them in the freezer like I do
Any vege ends you have lying about
Put everything in your slow cooker, fill with water until the chicken is just covered, then cook on high for 12-24 hours. Strain, then use. Stock can be refrigerated for about a week, or frozen for months.
Love, Rachel xxx
