When I’m feeling under the weather, or I need a nourishing and simple meal, I make rice porridge (cháo in Vietnamese, or congee). But lately, this recipe feels less like comfort food and more sentimental.
As my son wraps up high school and prepares for college, I find myself gathering the essential recipes he needs to survive independently. This rice cooker porridge is currently my number one.
It’s the ultimate college student or poor man’s meal. It’s incredibly simple, yet easy to transform into a wonderfully hearty meal if you have a few extra ingredients.
If I can send him off into the world with anything, I want it to be the ability to create a taste of home whenever he needs it.
3 Reasons This Recipe Rocks
- It’s simple. We’re using an appliance most college kids are sent off with: a rice cooker. It’s a convenient, portable way to cook. Just add your ingredients, set it, and forget it (well sort of. I’ll explain more below).
- Skip rinsing the rice. When you’re in a dorm or have limited kitchen space, you might not have a convenient sink handy. So for this recipe, we will skip the rinsing. Besides, the starch left on the grains creates a nice creamy texture that will add a bit more calories to a lean young man.
- Use a 1:11 ratio. I’ve tried a few ratios and I find that a one part rice to eleven parts water yields a right consistency off the bat for porridge. It’s not too thick, and if you like it thinner, it is incredibly easy to adjust this to your liking afterwards.
What You Will Need
- A Rice Cooker: I’m using a Tiger rice cooker that I picked up at Costco for a very affordable price, but any standard rice cooker will work.
- White Rice: I’m using long-grain white rice in this recipe. I’m sure others work as well, but the water needed may be different.
- Water: Provides the liquid base. You can also swap the water for stock for even more flavor.
- Salt: The simplest of seasoning if that’s all you have.
Extra options that make it so much better:
- Bouillon Powder: Adds the umami that we are used to in Vietnamese home cooking. You can use pork, chicken, or beef bouillon. If you want a vegetarian option, opt for mushroom seasoning powder.
- Fresh Aromatics: Ground black pepper, green onions, cilantro, and ginger will instantly un-dull the porridge. You can also drizzle in toasty sesame oil for an amazing finishing aroma.
- Hearty Toppings: This is where you make it yours. Chicken floss (Chà Bông) or any other meat floss (Vietnamese dried meat shredded thin and fluffy), century eggs, or salted eggs are classic, delicious Asian/Viethamese choices.
Tips for Success
- Watch the Vent: Because we are using a higher water-to-rice ratio in an enclosed space, the porridge can sometimes bubble up through the rice cooker vent, even on the porridge setting! This sometimes happens to me, and other times it doesn’t. I’m not sure why so don’t walk away completely. If you hear a vigorous gurgling sound or see it starting to boil over the vent, just pop the lid open for a bit while it’s boiling heavily. Once it settles down toward the end of the cooking cycle, you can close it back up or just leave it open until it finishes cooking.
- Adjusting Consistency: It is much easier to thin out porridge than to thicken it. If it’s too thick for your liking, simply stir in a little boiling water until it reaches your perfect consistency.
- Don’t Overthink the Settings: I don’t like to change my rice cooker settings. Every time I do, I forget to change it back! So I just simply cook this on the regular setting, which takes a bit longer than cooking regular steamed rice.
Storage & Reheating
This recipe makes enough for one serving and some left over. If you have leftover that needs storage overnight, cover the inner pot and transfer to the fridge.
You can reheat in the inner pot using the warm setting on the rice cooker or to do it quickly just transfer to a microwave safe bowl and warm it there. If needed, add a splash of water before warming to bring it back to the right consistency.
Easy Rice Cooker Porridge / Congee (Vietnamese Cháo)
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
A genuinely effortless meal in a rice cooker for a quick taste of home. Whether it is to prepare my son for college living or for anyone needing a low-effort dinner, just drop the ingredients in and press a button! Enjoy it simply or add a few extras for a heartier meal.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup long grain rice
- 5 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt (I’m using fine ground sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon bouillon powder (I’m using mushroom seasoning powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Thinly sliced green onions and/or cilantro or a drizzle of sesame oil (optional)
Instructions
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Prepare and start the porridge: Combine the unwashed rice and water in the rice cooker pot. Close the lid and start your regular rice cooker setting (I use the “Plain” setting on my Costco Tiger rice cooker, which takes about one hour).
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Monitor the cooking process: Check the steam vent after about 15 minutes. You might hear hissing or see liquid foaming from the vent, but this doesn’t always happen. If it does start to foam through the steam vent, open the lid and let it cook while open. Once any vigorous bubbling calms down near the end of the hour, you can close the lid or just finish cooking with it open.
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Finish and serve: Once done cooking, stir in your seasonings a little at a time to taste. Transfer to a bowl, top with your favorite fresh garnishes and hearty toppings like meat floss, century egg, or salted egg, and enjoy!
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Entree, Main Course
- Method: Rice Cooker
