I don’t know what to call this recipe – in the cookbook it is called “Rice and corn congee” but I’m not sure what a congee is, and I added a lot more than rice or corn to it, so while it may have started as a rice and corn congee, it ended up being quite a bit more!
And it is always good to have forgiving recipes that can be used for whatever you have in your fridge or pantry that needs some using up. I made this with brown rice, which I cooked on the stovetop, so that was a 40 minute cooking time for that. Other than the rice, this recipe took about 10 minutes to throw together, and then I let it simmer for 20 minutes because I wanted the tofu to soak up loads of flavor.
1 cup rice
1 cup corn
4 shallots or 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp crushed dried chilli
1 Tbsp groundnut oil (I used peanut, but you can use whatever oil you have on hand, groundnut or not)
3 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 rounded Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (I skipped this, Rich will be happy to know!)
black pepper
extra cilantro (I skipped this too)
The other things I added:
1 small green pepper, diced
8 oz (half a package) extra firm tofu, cut into many small pieces
1 mild pepper (was it anaheim?)
Cook the rice, drain and set aside. Saute the garlic, ginger, and onions or shallots in the oil until softened. Add the cooked rice and the remaining ingredients, apart from the extra cilantro, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for about 15 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens. Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with the extra cilantro.
I think this could have used rice noodles instead of rice, and it would have been just as good! This is definitely a recipe that can be played with. As it was, it was nicely heated, and very flavorful. There is something about using fresh ginger that makes all the difference! And the remaining ginger can be frozen indefinitely (wrap it well).
October 19, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Sounds pretty good – especially without the cilantro (yuck!)
I can see it having any number of variations – versatile sounding food. What is groundnut oil? That’s something I’ve never neard of.
Is the photo taken from your recent vacation out west? It sort of looks like the mesa down around Taos, NM but there was more sage down there and some hills called Twin Peaks out there.
Hope all is well with you tonight – wondered if I’d hear from you.
Peace today and everyday.
~ RS ~
October 19, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Yes Rich agrees on the no cilantro part. It sounds yummy and I would make it with rice noodles since they take less time to cook and I am lazy :p
Also I never heard of or thought of freezing ginger. Thanks for the tip.
October 20, 2007 at 6:55 am
Too funny that you both hate cilantro! Ruby, do you hate raw tomatoes too? Rich is “weird” that way as well, though I think that cilantro haters are more common.
Groundnut oil might refer specifically to peanut oil (that’s what I used) but I left it as groundnut because for all I know there are other ground nuts! I think you could easily use canola or olive oil though.
The picture is from argentina.
Rich, my mom is the one who told me the tip for ginger! I was so glad to hear it, because I always resisted buying fresh ginger unless I knew I’d be able to use it all up! Now I can always have fresh ginger.
October 20, 2007 at 10:32 am
Most of our dinners start out like this with these ingredients. We leave out the ginger, soy and cilantro, and add fresh rosemary and marjoram if we’re going for an Italian or Mediterranean flavor. It’s only been in the past few months that we’ve been eating rice pasta. Quite delicious.
Just wanted to stop by to thank you for the thoughtful comments you left on our blog. We appreciated hearing from you. I do try to reply there, but sometimes I get sidetracked by life and don’t manage to get back to everyone.
October 20, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Thanks for stopping by robin!
I’m so bad about knowing what things to put together to get what flavors – I’m really dependent on cookbooks, though maybe with enough time I’ll learn! I have at least progressed to the point where I am comfortable playing with the ingredients other than the spices and herbs! It always impresses me when people know food well enough to create flavors and know ahead of time what the end result will be like!
October 21, 2007 at 7:47 am
I love raw tomatoes, cooked tomatoes, tomatoes in just about any and everything…anywhere, any time.
I am glad to hear about the ginger too. I’d always felt the same about having leftover ginger and hated throwing it away but we don’t eat it in that much stuff.
I’m so happy to see that you and Robin have connected. I thought y’all might hit it off. I’ve sort of been out of it the past day or so and missed alot I think.
Hope everyone is having a lovely day today.
Peace, ~ RS ~
October 21, 2007 at 8:47 am
Oh, good, I love tomatoes too!
My mom is really good with these little kitchen tips. That one I think she picked up on a cooking show, but most of them are ones I swear she was born knowing!
October 21, 2007 at 11:14 am
Oh, this sounds yummy, Deb
I’ll be adding it to my list! (I love cilantro myself…I put it in almost everything!) Grilled tomatoes would be a nice addition!
October 21, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Grace, glad it sounds yummy to you! It was a really nice recipe – easy and yummy and fast. Grilled tomatoes do sound good! Actually, I’m not sure I’ve ever grilled tomatoes (I have a grill for the first time, but I’ve only used it once!) though I have roasted them quite often. Either way, tomatoes do sound like they’d be a good addition.
Tonight I’m making a cocoa coconut chili. I have a new cookbook, and I’m so excited! So far I’ve only made cookies, but I think this chili is going to be really tasty and fun too.