Vegetarian Porridge (Updated)

In the Vietnamese cuisine, porridge or con-gee is a very popular soup from urban to rural communities. There are many kinds of porridge -cháo lòng (Intestine porridge), chicken, beef, and all kinds of bean soup to the people under the weather. However, one of the con-gees that remains is a kind of porridge to serve during full moon days for those who are Buddhist vegetarians. Particularly, I enjoy a vegetarian porridge mixed because when we eat, we will feel very light. The sweetness of the vegetables in the broth are a very tasty mix of mushrooms and other vegetables. I prepare this soup by combining seaweed broth which adds more natural sweetness and nutrition to the broth. This is a dish that I suggest to everyone who loves to eat healthy should make this for their loved ones more often. I guarantee this will lower high blood pressure and help to fight chronic diseases that we encounter in society these days.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup rice and sweet rice*
8 to 10 cups vegetable broth
Vegetables:
1 carrot, diced
1 piece of daikon, diced
1/2  chayote squash, diced
1/2 cup diced jicama
1/4 cup frozen pea
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup cabbage, diced
1 cup combination of fresh mushrooms (your choice) shredded or diced
1 piece dry fungus, soaked and diced
4 shiitake mushrooms, soaked and diced
1/4 cup white onion, diced
1 tsp fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp mushroom seasoning powder
Other ingredients:
Crispy fried onions*
Salt, black pepper, and sugar to taste

Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro

Directions:
Wash rice 3-4 times and soak in water for several hours. Drain.

To prepare the porridge:
Bring vegetable broth to boil and add the soaked rice and continue to boil the rice on high heat. Occasionally, stir using a wooden spoon to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. It takes about 20 to 40 minutes for the rice to fully cook. Add corns, pea and cabbages.

 

 

To prepare the vegetables:

In a nonstick skillet, add 2 tbs of oil. Add onions and ginger.

Stir and cook until fragrant. Add carrot, daikon, jicama, and all the mushrooms. Season with salt, sugar, and mushrooms seasoning.

 Stir and cook for 3 minutes. Pour them into the pot of con-gee. Adjust the seasoning at this point. Simmer.

To Serve:
Ladle the porridge into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, crispy onions and crispy Chinese breadsticks*

 

* Use the 1/4 cup of rice and fill up the cup with sweet rice (your choice more or less sweet rice or rice).
* Chinese crispy cruller posted on Dec/04/11
* Use 1/4 cup of oil and fry the onions until crispy

Tips: Add fried tofu and also cooked chicken to this basic porridge