When I’m feeling under the weather is when my body seems to know what’s best for me. Aside from rest and relaxation, it tells me precisely what I should be eating for a speedy and full recovery.
If food is my medicine, then a vegetable rice porridge is a panacea for a cold of any size or duration! It’s heartwarming, herby, spiced, and slurpy enough to feel satisfying even to a sickbed sook 😛
I cook this less like a congee and more like a risotto, as I prefer the al dente texture of risotto rice, but love a fusion of flavours and textures between the warm, Asian spices of congee and the fresh, herbal aromas of risotto.
If you’re feeling under the weather, or just a bit down and in need of comfort food, whip up a pot of this, and you’ll be satisfyingly soothed about 30 minutes from now! Get cracking…! 😀
Flavour: Warming, herbed & spiced
Serves: 1 as a substantial sick-bed meal
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- half a medium onion, chopped finely
- quarter teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely minced
- quarter cup arborio rice
- 3 cups vegetable stock (see here for my DIY recipe)
- 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into large dice
- quarter cup kale, coarsely shredded
- quarter cup cabbage, coarsely shredded
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
- generous grind of black pepper
Directions:
- Finely chop your onion, and pop it in a small frying pan with the olive oil – crank heat up to maximum, and cook until the onion is translucent, stirring periodically
- Turn heat down to medium, and continue to fry your onion, stirring periodically, until it starts to turn golden
- Toss in your salt, garlic and ginger, stir, and cook for one more minute
- Add your arborio rice to the pan, stir through the onion and spices, and return heat to high
- Add 1 cup of vegetable stock, stir, and simmer – stir periodically to prevent the rice from sticking to the pan
- When most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, add another cup of stock, and add the carrots to the pan – stir to combine, and continue cooking
- When most of the liquid has again been absorbed, add the final cup of stock, along with the kale and cabbage – stir to combine, and continue cooking
- After another minute, add the thyme and sage, and grind in as much black pepper as you like (I like heaps, especially when on my sick bed!) – stir in, and reduce heat to medium
- Continue to stir your rice porridge for another couple of minutes until the mixture resembles a very runny risotto, and the rice is still al dente
- Serve piping hot directly to the sick bed, with a little more black pepper ground on top to garnish!
