Bill Daly/Chicago Tribune
If you love the Vietnamese version of rice porridge or congee, otherwise known as chao, then you’ll love that it’s getting a make over and spotlight in today’s foodie world.
A classic congee dish in Taiwan and China. (Photo by: JTB Photo/UIG via Getty Images)
Chef Minh Phan of Porridge and Puffs in Los Angeles, is one such chef that is highlighting congee in his cuisine. So much so that Phan said he hopes it becomes the new “ramen” in popularity.
LA chef Mei Lin, who won Bravo Tv’s Top Chef Season 12 made a congee dish consisting of carnitas, scallion puree, hot sauce, peanuts and egg yolk helped cinch her victory. Unlike many delicious dishes chefs make, rice porridge is considered realistic and easy to do as well. It is used widely in Asian cuisines and is called “jook” or “juk” in Chinese, “juk” in Korean, “khao tom gung” in Thai and chao in Vietnamese. While most congee consists of the rice base with chicken sides or salted eggs, innovative chefs are using ingredients such as risotto or quinoa to spice things up and carry it past the breakfast tradition.
Mark’s Duck House in Falls Church, Va. features congee, an Asian rice soup. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
To find out what other inventive variations chefs have come up with, click here:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/food/sc-food-0508-congee-updated-20150506-story.html#page=1
