Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for leftover rice congee

From theguardian.com

This big bowl of soupy rice is a joyous mess of comforting texture and flavour 

Truth be told, when I’m in need of comfort food, I don’t want to cook it. I’d rather order a takeaway and have someone else cook for me. The problem, though, is that it’s rare to find congee – AKA the most soothing meal I know of – on takeaway menus. Today’s recipe, then, is a compromise in that, although it involves some cooking, it’s minimal and needs next to no brainpower – while it’s bubbling away, you could, as I did, turn to another source of comfort and watch your favourite TV series or box set.

Leftover rice congee

Store any excess chillies in the freezer. If your leftover rice is already seasoned, season the congee to taste; otherwise, season with the amount of salt used in the method. And if you don’t have sweet soy sauce, simply make your own by mixing a tablespoon of light soy sauce with a tablespoon of brown rice syrup or maple syrup.

Prep 8 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 1

3 tbsp rapeseed oil
5 spring onions, trimmed and sliced paper-thin
20g piece fresh ginger (roughly 2cm x 2cm), peeled and finely grated
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
160g leftover cooked rice
Fine sea salt
2 green finger chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp rice-wine vinegar
1 tsp black sesame seeds
Sweet soy sauce, to serve

Put two tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan on a medium heat and, when hot, add two-thirds of the spring onions, and all the ginger and garlic, and stir-fry for a minute or so, until the spring onions turn Kermit green.

Add the rice, 460ml water and a half-teaspoon of salt, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, then bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer and cook for 12-14 minutes, until the mix is lovely, thick and soupy.

While the congee is cooking, make the pickled chilli oil. Put the remaining chopped spring onions in a small bowl with the chopped chillies, rice-wine vinegar, half a teaspoon of salt, the black sesame seeds and the remaining tablespoon of rapeseed oil, and stir to combine.

To serve, ladle the congee into a big bowl, drizzle over the sweet soy sauce to taste and spoon over the pickled chilli oil.

Meera Sodha’s leftover rice congee. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay. Food styling assistant: Susanna Unsworth

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/sep/30/vegan-leftover-rice-congee-recipe-meera-sodha-comfort-food