Tori’s Neutral Pork/Beef/Goose Congee

After surviving five writers conferences, countless flights to those and other destinations, nursing two family members in our home over Christmas, and two other family members in our home two weeks later, I finally caught the dreaded COVID 19. I suppose it was inevitable, although I was really hoping I had some sort of magical immunity that—combined with my diligent masking and avoidance efforts—was keeping me safe.

I did, however, give me three opportunities to hone my congee-making skills and came up with:

Tori’s Neutral Pork/Beef/Goose Congee

If you’ve read or listened to my Lily Wong series, you’ll recognize congee—also known as jook in Cantonese and zhōu in Mandarin—as Asia’s ubiquitous and comforting rice gruel.

In the first book, THE NINJA DAUGHTER, Baba brings Lily a bowl to soothe her heart and ply her for information. In book three, THE NINJA BETRAYED, Lily enjoys all the savory extras while visiting her grandparents in Hong Kong. (Lily is too busy infiltrating L.A.’s teen sex trafficking in THE NINJA’S BLADE to stop for a bowl of jook.)

For me, and almost every Chinese person I know, congee is the comfort food we crave when we’re sick.

In past years, I’ve made my congee with chicken broth, similar to the way I fix my Chicken Cabbage Soup. This has always felt comforting to me, especially on cold days. But while caring for my son and Hongkonger daughter-in-law, she let me know that chicken is considered to be warming (yang) foods and not good for fevers.

Needless to say, this was all news to me, despite my being nearly half Chinese!

What my daughter-in-law did recommend was beef broth and pork, which she called neutral. Fortunately, the deliciously rich broth I had made from the bones and carcass of my Crispy Mandarin Goose the night before was also—from a Chinese medicine viewpoint—considered to be neutral.

When I searched online for more information cooling (yin) and heating (yang) foods, I found a lot of discrepancies about the yin-yang nature of meats. Most sites listed pork as neutral or slightly cooling and beef as neutral to slightly warming. Most sites listed chicken as warming while a few considered it to be neutral.

Color me puzzled!

But what I also discovered is that the Chinese medicine approach to foods is complicated and individual. Yin and yang vegetables, spices (ginger is warming yang), and meats can be combined to offset and enhance the desired results. Cooking methods can affect properties—steamed produces more yin, stir-fry more yang. Not to mention human error in the articles I read.

My take away?

Whatever makes you feel better is probably perfect for you.

That said, everyone in my family found comfort in my Neutral Pork Congee!

Rather than write out several recipes for the variations I made while caring for my family and later for me, I’ve written out s loosey goosey (pun intended) recipe for you to try. I never measure anything accept for the rice, so feel free to eyeball the measurements and adjust to your taste.

A few notes:

Although chicken congee tastes wonderful, this recipe features neutral pork, beef, and/or goose. And while I’ve made delicious congee by sautéing ground beef or pork, I’m using previously roasted meats in these recipes so you have bones and/or carcass available to make your own stock.

Roasting pork and beef is surprisingly easy. (Check out Kate Workman’s recipe for Easy Fall-Apart Pork.) My local grocer frequently has pork shoulder or butt on sale for $1.99 per pound, making this an economic staple for family dinners, entertaining, and creative leftover recipes like congee.

Roasting goose is more labor intensive. If you’re up for the challenge, I highly recommend my Crispy Mandarin Goose!

After roasting your pork, beef, or goose, cut away the meat and toss the bones in a pot that night with half an onion, carrots, smashed garlic cloves, and smashed slices of fresh ginger. Boil it until bedtime (adding water if needed) then shut off the burner and leave it on the stove. In the morning, boil it again. Add water as needed and simmer until you reach the desired richness for your broth.

I keep low-sodium Beef Bone Broth in my cupboard when I don’t have homemade stock, to boost the quantity or flavor of the broth I make, and to thin my congee when reheating.

Ingredients:

¼ cup (or less) dried shitake, broken into bits and soaked in boiling water

1 teaspoon sesame or other preferred oil

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon minced ginger

1 to 3 chopped green onions

¼ cup chopped cilantro (optional)

¼ cup diced fresh mushrooms or carrots (optional)

1 cup diced roasted goose, pork, or beef

¾ cup short grain white rice

10 cups mixture of bone broth, shitake broth, and water (ratio depends on the concentration and/or blend of broths and how flavorful or bland you want your congee)

¼ cup (or more) dried bonito flakes (This is optional, but I think it makes a huge difference.)

Splash of soy or tamari sauce

Optional flavorings include a splash of fish sauce or teaspoon of miso paste

Instructions:

Soak shitake mushrooms in boiling water until soft. (Keep the water.)

Sauté garlic, ginger, green onions (and diced fresh vegetables) in oil until fragrant.

Add meat and sauté until heated.

Add rice, shitake mushrooms, and sauté to infuse flavors.

Add meat broth, shitake broth, and water.

Flavor with a dash of soy or tamari sauce and/or fish sauce if desired.

Bring to boil, then reduce temperature to low and simmer for 1 hour.

Add bonito flakes and simmer 5 to 30 minutes more minutes or until the gruel reaches desired consistency.

Turn off heat and let congee sit on the stove to enjoy. The rice will continue to absorb the broth. Add more broth as needed.

Enjoy as is or garnished with added meat, green onions, cilantro, vegetables, or flavorful sauce of choice.

As the congee thickens during the day or days in the fridge, add more broth when you reheat it for desired soupiness.

I hope you enjoy Tori’s Neutral Pork/Beef/Goose Congee!

Click the link below if you’d like to prepare Tori’s Crispy Mandarin Duck/Goose!