Congee is a savory rice porridge that I’ve wanted to make for quite some time. It’s a warm, comforting porridge made with rice, chicken, ginger, and sometimes other fun ingredients. Congee usually needs to simmer for quite some time, so the Instant Pot is a great way to make congee fast, but I’ve included stovetop directions for everyone else (it’s ridiculously simple either way). So, even though I’ve titled this “Instant Pot Congee”, don’t pass up this gem of a recipe just because you don’t own a trendy IP. It’s just toooooo good not to try.
What is Congee?
Congee is a rice porridge that is a staple food in several countries in Asia. You’ll find many different versions and names for this dish, depending on the region, but they all have one thing in common–they’re warm, comforting, and filling. The base for congee is rice that has been cooked for an extended amount of time in water or both until it breaks down into a really thick porridge. It can be as simple as that, or it can have extra ingredients added, like meat and aromatics, to make it more of a full meal.
But that’s just a snapshot of the history and culture surrounding this classic comfort food. If you’d like to try an authentic congee recipe and learn more about congee, I highly suggest checking out these resources:
- Chicken Congee from Made with Lau
- The Secret to Making Chinese Congee from Tiff & Case (Youtube)
- How to Make Congee (Rice Porridge) from China Sichuan Food
- 20 Minute Congee from The Woks of Life
What Does Congee Taste Like?
Congee is a fairly mild dish, but the flavor is deep. Oh so deliciously deep. This version, made with chicken, has a mild chicken flavor, with a little extra umami kick from mushrooms, and a lovely ginger base note. I found the congee to be so velvety smooth and delicious that I could happily slurp it up on its own, but when I started adding fun toppings the meal was elevated to super-star status.
Add Toppings
I’d suggest using at least the base toppings that I have listed on the recipe card below:
- sesame oil
- soy sauce
- green onion
- cilantro
- chopped peanuts
Beyond that, the sky’s the limit. I gave the congee the “soft boiled egg and sriracha” treatment because I add those two things to just about everything, but the congee was really quite filling on its own, so I probably won’t opt for an egg in the future. The sriracha was a nice touch, though.
Here are a few other topping ideas:
- pickled vegetables
- fried onions or shallots
- sesame seeds
- steamed greens
But really, anything goes here. Sweep the kitchen!
Instant Pot Congee (Rice Porridge)
Servings 6 (1.3 cups each)Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice ($0.52)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1-2 inches fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 3 shittake mushrooms ($0.63)
- 2 lb. bone-in chicken pieces ($3.66)
- 7 cups water ($0.00)
- 1/2 Tbsp salt (or to taste) ($0.05)
TOPPINGS
- 3 green onions, sliced ($0.23)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro (optional) ($0.20)
- 1/3 cup peanuts, chopped ($1.12)
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.05)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.33)
Instructions
- Peel and slice the ginger, and crush the cloves of garlic. Slice the mushrooms into thin strips. Remove the skin from the chicken pieces.
- Place the uncooked rice in the bottom of the Instant Pot and add the crushed garlic, sliced ginger, and sliced mushrooms on top. Lay the chicken pieces over the rice and aromatics. Finally, add seven cups of water.
- Close and lock the lid of the Instant Pot. Turn the steam release valve to the “sealing” position. Press the “porridge” button to begin cooking (no need to adjust the time or pressure). After ten seconds the pot will begin to heat and build pressure. Once it reaches the required temperature and pressure, the display will begin to count down 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, the pot will switch to the “keep warm” setting and begin to drop in pressure. Allow the pot to reduce in pressure naturally, without opening the steam release valve. When the float valve falls back to the down position, open the steam valve, and then open the lid.
- Using tongs, carefully remove the chicken pieces and place them on a clean cutting board. Use two forks to shred the meat and remove the bones. Return the shredded meat to the pot.
- Stir and taste the porridge, and add salt as needed (I added 1/2 Tbsp). Only add enough salt to amplify the flavors, but leave room for the addition of soy sauce as a topping.
- Ladle the congee into each bowl and drizzle a small amount (1 tsp) of toasted sesame oil and soy sauce on top of each bowl. Sprinkle the sliced green onions, cilantro leaves, and chopped peanuts over top, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Congee in an Instant Pot – Step by Step Photos
Start by peeling and slicing 1-2 inches of ginger (I really like ginger, so may use more next time). Thinly slice three shittake mushrooms and crush two cloves of garlic. Shittake mushrooms are pretty expensive ($8.99/lb. at my local stores), but since they’re mostly air and weigh next to nothing, I was able to get three fairly large mushrooms for $0.63. Not bad.
Remove the skin from about 2 lbs. of bone-in chicken pieces. Dark meat is going to give you a lot better flavor than breasts, so I highly suggest you stick to thighs and drumsticks. You can remove the excess fat as well, but I found that it made the porridge incredibly rich and velvety. Plus, trimming the fat is tedious. Ha.
Place one cup uncooked jasmine rice in the bottom of the Instant Pot and add the ginger slices, crushed garlic, and sliced mushrooms on top.
Then add the chicken pieces…
And finally, add 7 cups water.
If you’re making this on the stove top, just add all the ingredients listed above to a large pot, but use 10 cups water instead of 7 (you’ll get a lot more evaporation with the stove top method). Bring the pot to a boil (with lid) over high heat, then reduce to low and let simmer for 1-2 hours, stirring often, or until a thick porridge has formed. If the porridge is too thin after that time, simply let it simmer without a lid until it thickens.
Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the steam release valve (on the left in the photo) to the “sealing” position. Notice the float valve on the right, the small metal circle, is down. This means there is no pressure in the Instant Pot.
Press the “porridge” button over there on the right and it will turn on to the automatic setting of 20 minutes at high pressure. No need to adjust, just wait ten seconds for it to begin.
It may take 10-15 minutes for the pot to come up to temperature and pressure. Once it reaches high pressure, the float valve will be elevated (it’s that small metal circle on the right). That indicates that the pot is under pressure. Once it reaches the proper pressure, the display on the front will begin to count down 20 minutes.
After cooking with high pressure for 20 minutes, the Instant Pot will beep and change to “keep warm” mode. The display will show an “L” and start counting up the time (it’s at seven minutes in the photo). Let the pressure naturally come back down, which may take 15 minutes or so. You’ll know the pressure is safe when that metal float valve has fallen back down.
Once it’s back down to safe pressure, open the steam release valve, then open the lid. It will look a little something like this. It looks a little watery on top, but once it’s stirred it thickens right up. Carefully remove the chicken pieces with tongs and place them on a clean cutting board.
Use two forks to shred and pull the meat from the bones. The meat should be so tender that it literally falls apart when you touch it.
Stir the shredded meat back into the congee. Give it a taste and add salt to your liking (I added 1/2 Tbsp). You want enough salt to make the flavors pop, but not so much that you wouldn’t want to add soy sauce as a topping.
Ladle some congee into a bowl… I gotta say, too, that I love those ginger slices. They become quite mild through the cooking process and have a texture similar to water chestnuts. They’re SO GOOD. More ginger slices next time for sure.
At a minimum, I’d suggest adding a small drizzle of toasted sesame oil & soy sauce to each bowl, along with some sliced green onions, cilantro leaves, and chopped peanuts to your Instant Pot Congee. The chopped peanuts were truly a delight. They added wonderful texture.
Or, you know, you could go crazy and add a soft boiled egg and some sriracha too… Cuz why not? Make your Instant Pot Congee your own!
I love almost all of Beth’s recipes, but this one didn’t do it for me. Full disclosure, I did make it on the stove instead of in an Instant Pot. I wasn’t satisfied with the taste even after adding a hard-boiled egg, Sriracha, soy sauce, sesame oil, peanuts, cilantro, and green onions. You’d think that that would be too many flavors but it was still somehow bland for me. Still, most of the Budget Bytes recipes I try are super great.
Try cooking it in chicken stock instead of water next time, that’s what I plan to do :D
Can you use plain white rice for this?
You can, but jasmine rice has a lot more flavor. :)
I was a little skeptical on whether I’d like this or not but I’ve wanted to try it for a while so I gave it a go.
It turned out great!
I simmered on the stovetop for about an hour and 25 minutes. The chicken was super tender.
The toppings I used where ponzu sauce, fish sauce, sriracha, green onions and salted peanuts. I think I’ll like this recipe as the base is good and I can keep it interesting by changing up the toppings.
I’m so glad I saw this! I had most of the ingredients in the house (well, chicken breasts, but whatever, they’ll work) and I’ve thrown it into the slowcooker. I’m so looking forward to breakfast. I always forget about congee, and never thought of making it in the slowcooker. Glad to see that some other commenters have had success. :)
This looks amazing!
Ah, Thank Goodness you have an Instant Pot too! We got it at the same sale and I love that you’re able to help me throw things together in it!!
hemm.. I want try it.. look so delicious..
This Congee is amazing. When I read the recipe, I couldn’t see how it would be special but it really is wonderful. I’d never heard of it until I saw it here. My husband couldn’t believe how good it iwas. I used dried shitake mushrooms and cut them dry. I did use chicken broth for the extra flavor. The ginger was still quite hot when I bit into it but not too much.
I used frozen chicken legs which made my total cooking time 1 hour from setting the porridge button to end of the natural release. My understanding is that it takes extra time to heat from frozen to pressure.
Great job on this lovely recipe!
Nice, I didn’t know if dried mushrooms would work so I got fresh ones but that’s good to know for next time!
You can use dried mushrooms too, just soak them in warm water until they become soft, and don’t throw away the soaking water, add it into the pot, it will make your jook more fragrant. As for the ginger, we usually slice them in thick pieces and pick them out when it’s cooked so we don’t bite into them.
I made this in my house since we were all down with the flu. I put a fried egg and a lot of Sriracha on top to help clear the sinuses. It was such a nice comforting meal for all the patients.
Hey Beth, it’s great to see you finally cook (and rock) congee! It’s a very popular dish in Vietnam. Great for either breakfast, lunch, dinner or a savory snack in between. And yes, the topping options are endless. A few other protein options we do here in the Nam are minced beef, spare ribs and even fish or clams. If you ever want a quick slurp (and be more Vietnamese), try some plain congee with salty duck eggs. And if you want the congee to be smoother and more velvety, blitz it up with a hand mixer and you’ll get this super smooth, paste-like, heaven-in-the-mouth substance. Mmmm… Oh, you can also toast the rice before cooking it for some more flavour. Oh my, writing this makes me crave some congee!
Yum!! Excellent options, thank you! :D
I just made this, and oh my goodness!! It’s amazing! Also convinced me to get an insta pot. Who knew such a device existed, but I digress.
I served this with the marinated Japanese soft boiled eggs that are often served in ramen. Also, at the end, I added some frozen peas for color. My kids and husband all loved it and it was a breeze to put together.
I’m so happy you were able to make this for yourself! It seems like you really loved it, and I’m glad you are getting lots of use out of the instant pot!
Though I have been hearing about congee for awhile, this is my first time making and eating it and I have to say – it is DELICIOUS. I made mine on the stovetop with bok choy instead of shiitake mushrooms and a few extra chicken thighs, and it is the definition of “hella good”. I can definitely see myself eating this on the regular from now on. Thank you once again for the incredible recipe, you are the bomb!
I know, right? I had always heard about how good it was, but I still under estimated it. I was really blown away as well. I guess with such a simple list of ingredients it seems like it would just be good, not OMG AMAZING, but it sure is. ;)
How long did you leave it on the stove and what temperature?
This was delicious! I used a combination of Jasmine/Arborio rice; it’s what I had on hand. I also used dried porcini mushrooms, and didn’t have any peanuts. Delicious, comforting, and revitalizing! I cooked in an electric pressure cooker for 15 minutes, natural release for another 15 (which wasn’t long enough – I did get some starchy rice liquid in my steam release valve!).
Thank you for sharing this recipe. My husband is Chinese and introduced me to Jook years ago. I’ve always wanted to make my own, there is a version made with tofu and corn that I absolutely love that I am going to try. Thanks again. Also, love the multi-cooker, was looking for a new one to replace one that quit, I’m getting this one off Amazon, thanks for the recommendation. :)