How to Make (In)Authentic Congee from Mulan
A hearty rice porridge that would make Mushu proud.
image source: https://giphy.com/explore/movie-mulan?sort=recent
I am a white girl from a small town in SouthEastern Idaho.
Recognizing that, I know I can’t make the traditional Chinese dish of congee as authentic as others can. But, in the name of Disney lovers everywhere, I gave it my best shot.
I included an authentic recipe at the bottom of this page, and included an inauthentic version that I made myself.
In preparation to make the dish and make Mushu proud, I set out to do some research. I found out that Mulan was actually based on a real character from Northern China around the year 300.
image source: https://giphy.com/explore/mulan-disney
Congee existed 10,000 years before that and is a humble and hearty rice porridge usually fed for breakfast.
Unfortunately, no congee recipe can be found dating back that far. Lucky for me, the ingredients and techniques used back then are easy to replicate using modern technologies.
To make the congee, all you need is rice and water. That’s it.
The rice is cooked with a 6:1 ratio, 6 parts water and 1 part rice. Just like Mushu showed in the movie, traditional toppings consist of eggs and bacon.
image source: https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/111379135.html?page=1
To recreate the dish, I boiled the rice in the water until a porridge consistency was achieved. This took way longer than I expected it to, about 45 minutes until the rice broke down.
When the porridge was done, I fried two sunny-side up eggs and a strip of bacon, laying them on the porridge to make a smiley face.
I will say, it tasted exactly like I expected it to. It wasn’t bad by any means, in fact it was comforting in a way. It was fun eating it while watching the movie.
But for my tastes, I’m going to tell you what I would’ve done if I could redo it.
image source: https://giphy.com/gifs/mulan-mushu
For starters, I would introduce more flavor into the congee. There are authentic recipes that do this as well, I was just remaining as bare as possible for the sake of the original recreation.
To do this, boil the rice in chicken or beef stock instead of water. Also introduce aromatics such as ginger and garlic into the broth. When the congee is done, top it with the following items: bacon, eggs, green onions, fried garlic, fried shallots, sesame seeds, and soy sauce.
For me personally, that would’ve been my perfect congee.
Enjoy while watching Mulan for the full immersive experience.
The recipes for both versions of congee are listed below.
Traditional Congee
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
6 cups water
2 eggs
1 strip bacon
Directions:
Bring water to a boil.
Add rice.
Boil for 45 minutes until rice breaks and becomes porridge consistency. Add more water as needed.
When congee is done, prepare 2 sunny side up eggs and one strip of bacon.
Arrange in a smiley face on the porridge.
Enjoy!
Saybree’s Congee
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
6 cups chicken stock
1 knob ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 eggs
2 strips bacon
Green onions
Fried garlic
Fried shallots
Sesame seeds
Soy sauce to taste
Directions:
Bring stock with ginger and garlic cloves to a boil.
Add rice.
Boil for 45 minutes until rice breaks and becomes porridge consistency. Add more water as needed.
When congee is done, prepare 2 sunny side up eggs and fry 2 strips of bacon.
Arrange eggs, bacon, and all other ingredients on top of porridge.
Enjoy!
Let me know in the comments below if you tried either of these recipes and what you would’ve done different!
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