Canada / Canada's food guide
Multigrain congee with shiitake, ginger and scallion
Congee is a staple food in many countries around the world. It is eaten at any time of the day, but perhaps most popularly served at breakfast. Often prepared with just one type of grain, this variation is prepared with many varieties of grains.
Ingredients
- dried shiitake mushrooms6
- uncooked wheat berries, rinsed in cold water60 mL (¼ cup)
- uncooked Calrose, jasmine or other medium grain white rice, rinsed in cold water85 mL (⅓ cup)
- uncooked black rice or other whole grain rice, rinsed in cold water30 mL (2 tbsp)
- uncooked millet or sorghum60 mL (¼ cup)
- cold water, divided1 ¾ L (7 cups)
- scallion, roots removed and thinly sliced6 pieces
- fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced30 mL (2 tbsp)
- sesame oil, toasted5 mL (1 tsp)
- lower sodium soy sauce15 mL (1 tbsp)
- Salt and white pepperto taste
Quantities are auto-calculated from the original recipe as a guide. Items without numbers (e.g. “to taste”) are not changed.
Method 4 steps
Soak shiitake mushrooms in 250 mL (1 cup) cold water for 12 hours in the refrigerator. Remove any tough stems and cut pre-soaked mushrooms into ½ cm (¼ inch) slices. Reserve soaking liquid.
In a large pot, bring shiitakes, soaking liquid, wheat berries, white rice, black rice, millet, and cold water to a simmer over medium heat.
Cover congee and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to prevent grains from sticking to the bottom of the pot as they become softer. The congee is ready to eat when grains have broken down and mixture is creamy.
Serve hot congee in bowls. Garnish each bowl with scallions, ginger, toasted sesame oil, and lower sodium soy sauce. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
