This vegan breakfast congee has been on my mind for years and it was almost in the cookbook, hot for food all day. Now it's here, with king oyster mushrooms that eat like shredded meat, tangy pickled bok choy, and whatever crunchy toppings you've got hiding in your pantry!
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why you need this breakfast congee in your life
Congee has been on my "to make" list for years. I've wanted to make it, eat it constantly, and figure out every possible way to bowl it up, and now, finally, here it is. This vegan breakfast congee was originally developed for hot for food all day, my second cookbook, but it didn't make the final cut. That's your gain, because it landed here instead!
Before we get into it: congee isn't just for breakfast. It's a deeply cozy, endlessly adaptable rice porridge that works any time of day. Once you make it, you'll be looking for excuses to eat it at every meal.
what is congee?
Congee is also known as zhou (中国), okayu (Japan), juk (Korea), lugaw (Philippines), or jok (Thailand) and it's a rice porridge made by simmering rice in a large amount of liquid until the grains break down into something silky, thick, and deeply satisfying. It's a dish with thousands of years of history, originally traced back to ancient China where it served both as everyday nourishment and as a gentle, medicinal food.
Across east and Southeast Asia, congee adapts to local flavour profiles. Chinese congee ranges from savory to sweet with an enormous variety of toppings and proteins. Japanese okayu is more restrained, simple and delicate, often served during illness or recovery. Korean juk is hearty, sometimes made with mixed grains. Filipino lugaw leans on garlic, scallions, and a hit of calamansi. Thai jok is aromatic, layered with herbs and condiments. The common thread? All of them are blank canvases waiting for delectible toppings.
how I season this vegan rice porridge
Most congee recipes I researched are fairly lightly seasoned during cooking, with all the flavor coming from toppings. I went a different direction. I add a lot of flavourful ingredients into the cooking rice itself! Soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and fresh ginger all go directly into the congee as it cooks. The result is a savory, umami-forward porridge base that's genuinely delicious even before a single topping lands on it.
Is this traditional? Not entirely. Do I care? Not even a little, especially when something tastes this good.
the toppings for my vegan congee
- homemade pickled bok choy: tangy, bright, and the perfect contrast to the rich porridge base
- shredded and seared king oyster mushrooms: seasoned and cooked until they have a slightly meaty, fibrous texture that gives serious shredded-pork energy
- crispy fried onions: straight from my pantry (same ones used in my mujadara), for crunch
- micro greens: a fresh, green contrast
- scallions: always in my fridge, always going in
I also added a yo! egg fried vegan egg here, which I happened to have on hand. If you don't, a tofu scramble or my egg yolk sauce from hot for food all day would be incredible here. That was the original cookbook vision! You can also find the egg yolk sauce recipe in my breakfast trifle here.
more vegan congee topping ideas
The beauty of this recipe is that the base is a vehicle for whatever you've got. If you have a copy of hot for food all day, pull out some of these for next-level bowls:
- mung bean scramble (pg 17)
- fried tofu from the clubhouse sandwich (pg 66)
- roasted purple cabbage (pg 88)
- crunchy butter beans (pg 96)
- tempeh bacon chunks (pg 100)
- crispy onion strings (pg 194)
No cookbook? No problem. Raid your fridge and pantry, use leftover roasted vegetables, marinated tofu, chili crisp, sesame seeds, nori, pickled anything. There are genuinely no rules here. Let your cravings guide you!
tips for making the best vegan breakfast congee
- use a 1:8 or 1:10 rice-to-liquid ratio for a properly silky, broken-down congee
- stir occasionally and keep the heat low, you're not rushing this!
- season the pot: don't wait until serving to add flavour
- make a big batch. Congee reheats beautifully with a splash of water or broth
- don't skip the textural topping... you need something crunchy to contrast the creamy base
frequently asked questions
Short-grain or jasmine rice are both great choices. Short-grain white rice breaks down more quickly and gets creamier; jasmine rice produces a slightly lighter porridge. Avoid brown rice unless you have extra time, because it takes significantly longer to break down and may need more liquid.
Traditional congee is often made with chicken broth or topped with meat and eggs, so it's not always vegan. This version is 100% plant-based. The broth base is seasoned with soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and ginger, and the toppings are all vegan, including shredded king oyster mushrooms in place of meat.
Yes! Using leftover cooked rice is a great shortcut. Simply simmer the rice with water or broth for about 15–20 minutes until it breaks down into a creamy porridge.
Yes! Congee keeps well in the fridge for up to 4 days. When reheating, add a generous splash of water or broth and stir well. The rice will have absorbed a lot of liquid as it sits. Keep your toppings separate until serving so they stay crispy.
Any meaty mushroom works well here: cremini, shiitake, or oyster mushrooms all shred or slice nicely and hold up to searing. If you want a different kind of protein, pan-fried tofu strips or tempeh bacon are also excellent options.
vegan breakfast congee
Ingredients
rice porridge (makes 5 cups)
- 1 C sushi rice / short grain white rice
- 8 C vegetable or vegan chicken-flavoured stock (make with 3 cubes or 1 tablespoon of boullion paste with 8 cups hot water)
- 2 C water
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari or low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 large slices of ginger (about 2 ½-inches long x ⅛-inch thick)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
pickled bok choy
- 2 C hot water
- ½ C unseasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 C finely chopped bok choy (about 2 large baby bok choy)
shredded king oyster mushrooms
- 3 large king oyster mushrooms (about 3 cups shredded)
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoon black vinegar
toppings
- 1 C store-bought crispy fried onions
- 4 green onions, sliced thin diagonally
- 1 C microgreens
- chili crisp or chili oil, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly under water through a sieve until the water runs clear.
- Add the rice to a large stock pot or Dutch oven with the vegetable or chicken flavoured stock, water, mirin, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, sea salt and white pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, about 10 minutes. Once the liquid boils, stir the rice and turn the heat down to low. Place a lid on partially to allow steam to escape. Simmer the mixture for 65 to 70 minutes. Stir and scrape the bottom occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. It should look like a porridge when done. You can leave it off the heat with the lid on.
- While the congee is cooking, you can make the pickled bok choy. In a large glass container with a lid, combine the hot water, rice vinegar, sugar, and sea salt. Give it a good whisk or stir until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Then add the chopped bok choy and mix well. Add the lid and place in the fridge. Let it pickle for at least 1 hour or do it 1 day in advance. Keep this in the fridge for up to 7 to 10 days.
- To make the shredded king oyster mushrooms, take prongs of a fork and shred the large stem of the king oyster mushrooms. You can break up the mushroom caps as well into smaller pieces. Heat a large cast iron pan over medium-high heat (do not oil it), and once hot lay the shredded mushrooms into an even layer. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes without tossing at all, allowing most of the moisture to evaporate and the mushrooms to get some browning on them. Add a sprinkle of sea salt, toss, and then lay out in an even layer again. Cook for another 2 minutes, until nearly all the moisture is evaporated. Toss again, and lay out in an even layer. Cook another 2 minutes. Then add sesame oil and black vinegar and toss to coat well. Lower heat to medium and continue to cook another 2 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the mushrooms are quite browned but not burnt. Remove them from the hot pan and onto a separate dish or plate.
- Once the congee is done you can portion the congee into a bowl. Top with shredded mushrooms, pickled bok choy, crispy fried onions, sliced green onion, and microgreens. Drizzle with chili oil, if desired.
- I pan fried the Yo! Egg fried egg for a few minutes until heated through, sprinkled it with kala namak, and placed it gently on top of the congee.
Lauren Toyota
Lauren is a plant-based powerhouse, a former TV host turned wildly successful food creator, best-selling cookbook author, and the woman responsible for making vegan comfort food a thing worth craving. Through her blog and YouTube channel, hot for food, she’s amassed a dedicated following by recreating all the nostalgic, indulgent dishes we love—mac & cheese, burgers, cinnamon rolls—but making them entirely plant-based. No compromise on taste, no weird ingredients, just damn good food.