This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text. It porridge potato be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most often savory, but sometimes sweet.

It is typically served as a meal on its own, especially for breakfast or people who are ill. It is mentioned in the Book of Rites and noted in Pliny’s account of India circa 77 CE. To prepare the dish, rice is boiled in a large amount of water until it softens significantly. Congee can be made in a pot or in a rice cooker. Some rice cookers have a “congee” setting, allowing it to be cooked overnight.

The type of rice used can be either short- or long-grain, depending on what is available and regional cultural influences. Culture also often dictates the way congee is cooked and eaten. It is often considered particularly suitable for the sick as a mild, easily digestible food. Because of this, it is commonly served as a staple meal for patients in healthcare facilities. Thick, brown, medium textured porridge in bowl next to plate of fried tofu. While plain congee is a staple dish in China, it is called congee only in Hong Kong English but is more commonly recognised as jūk.

For example, to make Cantonese congee, white rice is boiled in many times its weight in water for a long time until the rice breaks down and becomes a fairly thick, white porridge. Congees made in other regions may use different types of rice with different quantities of water, producing congees of different consistencies. Congee with mung beans is usually eaten with sugar, as is red bean congee, or in Laba congee. Besides being an everyday meal, congee is considered to be food therapy for the unwell.

Ingredients can be determined by their supposed therapeutic value as well as flavor. It is also used to feed infants. The origin of congee is unknown, but from many historical accounts, it was usually served during times of famine, or when numerous patrons visited the temples, as a way to stretch the rice supply to feed more people. The autumn porridge festival is celebrated by villagers eating congee together on that day, the meaning being that they pray for everything to go smoothly and to build a good relationship with the neighborhood.