Congee

Congee—and every other version of rice porridge that’s made across East and Southeast Asia—is one of the earliest and most enduring forms of culinary thrift. For centuries, maybe even millennia, Chinese cooks have stretched the grain by boiling it in plenty of water until it dissolves into something that hovers between starch and soup. Depending on the regional style, the rice might be simmered with pork bones or preserved greens until it’s thick and glossy (juk in Cantonese) or cooked in plain water or light broth to a thinner consistency and served with a variety of savory accompaniments (baizhou in Mandarin). In either case, the milky-white gruel is Dickensian in the best possible way: plain sustenance that’s economical and appealing at any time of day.

Accompaniments transform this dish into something so extraordinary that you might forget it