vegan breakfast congee

This vegan breakfast congee is deeply savory, endlessly customizable, and made with king oyster mushrooms, pickled bok choy, and pantry-friendly toppings. It's cozy in a bowl!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword Asian Breakfast Recipe, Breakfast Congee, Chinese Congee, Comfort Breakfast Bowl, Easy Congee Recipe, Rice Porridge, Savory Rice Porridge

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 310kcal

Author Lauren Toyota

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.

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