Jook or congee

From David Lebovitz

Six to eight servings

Jook also goes by the name congee, a word which doesn't sounds appealing to me. (Kinda like, "Would you like some gruel?"...um, no thanks...) A Chinese cook I worked with told me that jook means "arrow." I don't know if that's true, but whenever I drink a bowl, I feel like it hits the bulls-eye.

Don't try to stick too close to the recipe; use it as a springboard for what's available. Like the dried mushrooms, for example, could be swapped out with some fresh, sautéed ones. I've given some suggestions, but like most soup recipes, this lends itself to plenty of customization.

1. Take 1 cup unrinsed short grain rice, and put it in a big pot with 8 cups of water and 2 cups chicken stock(or use all water, if you don't have stock). Let it simmer for about an hour or so, over low heat, until the rice is completely soft and swollen.

2. Meanwhile, soak a large handful of dried Chinese mushrooms in boiling water or shaoxing, and let them sit until soft. Firmly squeeze out the liquid, trim off any hard stems and thinly slice the mushrooms. Then dd them to the pot along with a 2-inch (5cm) piece of fresh ginger that you've peeled and minced.

3. At this point, you can add...

-frozen or fresh peas
-diced chicken or turkey breast, cooked or uncooked
-cubes of lap chong (Chinese sausage) or slab bacon, cooked or uncooked
-finely-diced carrots
-raw peeled shrimp
-a big dash of fish sauce (see Note)

4. Then I simmer the soup for about thirty minutes more, to meld all the flavors. So much depends on the rice that it's hard to note exact cooking times. But this is rustic fare, so just use your judgment and cook it until the grains of rice are very plump and tender and the ingredients look happy together. When done, the jook should be soupy and runny, not thick enough to hold a spoon. But there's no standard for jook-consistency, so it's right when it's as you like it.

5. Possible garnishes are sliced scallions and/or cilantro. I am a big fan of frying cubes of bacon until crisp them and adding them to each bowl of soup. Smoked tofu, cut into cubes, would work for a vegetarian bowl. Scatter a few roasted peanuts on top, or finish with deep-fried shallots.

(Jennifer brought me some amazing deep-fried onions from the south of France, which are the 'local' version of French fried onions.)

Note: To me, the dash of fish sauce is pretty much obligatory to add to the jook, in my opinion, and adds an elusive background flavor. If you don't have any, add a sprinkle of salt. If you want to be more egalitarian, bottles of soy sauce, chile paste, and sesame oil can go on the table so folks can help themselves. I don't like soy sauce, though, since too much of it quickly overwhelms everything else in the soup.

Jook will thicken if refrigerated, so just thin it with more water or stock if you store leftovers in there. Although this makes a great lunch or dinner, it's popular with some folks for breakfast, too.