A soft, creamy rice porridge gets topped with a poached egg for glorious richness.
Serve this comforting porridge for breakfast, lunch, or a simple supper. It’s particularly lovely when it’s chilly outside.
Poached Egg and Congee Rice
Delicious for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Ingredients
- 3 spring onions scallions
- 3 cm/ 1 1/4 inch piece root ginger peeled
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 120 g/ 4oz jasmine rice
- 80 ml/ 2 1/2 fl oz Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 litre/ 1 quart hot vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine vinegar
- 140 g/ 5oz shredded spring greens
- 2 eggs
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- pinch of chile flakes red pepper flakes
- handful roasted unsalted peanuts roughly chopped
- small handful coriander cilantro leaves
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- Whizz the spring onions (scallions), ginger and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped (or chop by hand).
- Heat the oil in a large pan, add the ginger and spring onion mix and fry for a couple of minutes over medium heat.
- Stir through the rice, then pour in the rice wine and let it bubble for 1–2 minutes, until reduced a little.
- Pour in the stock, soy sauce and rice vinegar and gently simmer for 25 minutes, stirring now and then.
- At the 20-minute mark, stir through the shredded greens to wilt.
- The rice should be really soft and the stock thickened and soupy. Taste to check the seasoning.
- Meanwhile, poach your eggs by filling a pan up to about 5cm/2 inches with water and bring to the boil.
- Reduce the heat right down to a shudder. In turn, crack each egg into a teacup and gently slide it into the water, at separate sides of the pan. Cook for 2 1/2 minutes, or until the whites have set.
- Spoon the congee between warmed bowls and top each with a poached egg, a pinch of chile flakes (red pepper flakes), roasted peanuts and a few coriander (cilantro) leaves. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze.
Notes
Used with permission from Posh Eggs: Over 70 Recipes for Wonderfully Eggy Things by Lucy O'Reilly, Quadrille Publishing, 2016. Photography by Louise Hagger.