Congee, also known as rice porridge or jook, is one of the most comforting dishes you can make—a silky, savoury bowl of slow-cooked rice that's easy on the stomach and endlessly adaptable with toppings. Making congee in a rice cooker is genuinely one of the easiest ways to prepare it, since the machine can simmer away for an hour or more without you needing to stand over a pot stirring constantly.
What Makes Congee Different
Unlike a normal pot of rice, congee is cooked with a much larger amount of liquid, breaking the grains down until they become soft, creamy, and almost porridge-like in consistency. It's a staple across Chinese, and many other Asian, cuisines—often eaten for breakfast, as a gentle meal when you're unwell, or as a comforting dinner on a cold night. Because it's so mild and easy to digest, it's a popular go-to when you don't have much of an appetite.
Getting the Ratio Right
The key difference between cooking regular rice and making congee is the amount of water. Where standard white rice uses a ratio of around 1:1.5, congee needs far more—typically somewhere between 1:6 and 1:8 (rice to water), depending on how thick or thin you like it. A ratio closer to 1:6 gives a thicker, porridge-like congee, while 1:8 produces a thinner, more soupy consistency.
- Thick congee: 1 cup rice to 6 cups water
- Medium congee: 1 cup rice to 7 cups water
- Thin, soupy congee: 1 cup rice to 8 cups water
A small handful of long-grain rice, jasmine rice, or even leftover cooked rice all work for congee, but starting with raw, uncooked rice generally gives the smoothest, silkiest results since the grains have time to break down fully during the long cook.
Choosing the Right Setting
Many rice cookers, particularly Japanese brands like Zojirushi and Tiger, include a dedicated "porridge" or "congee" setting designed exactly for this longer, higher-liquid cook. If your machine has one, use it—it's calibrated to simmer gently for the right length of time without boiling over.
If your rice cooker doesn't have a porridge setting, you can still make congee using the regular white rice setting with extra water, though you may need to run the cycle more than once, checking the consistency and topping up water as needed, since a standard cycle is designed to finish once the water is absorbed rather than simmer for an extended period.
Because congee uses so much water, it's prone to bubbling up and boiling over, especially in smaller rice cookers. Only fill your inner pot to around half its capacity when making congee, and choose a rice cooker with enough headroom if you make it regularly. Wiping down the lid vent and outer body afterwards is also a good habit, since starchy overflow can be sticky to clean.
Method
- Rinse the rice once or twice to remove excess surface starch (a light rinse is fine—you don't need to rinse until clear, since the starch actually helps thicken the congee).
- Add the rice and water to your rice cooker's inner pot using your preferred ratio, leaving plenty of headroom for bubbling.
- Select the porridge/congee setting, or the white rice setting if that's all you have.
- Stir occasionally during cooking if your rice cooker allows the lid to be opened mid-cycle. Stirring helps release the rice's starch, which is what gives congee its signature silky, creamy texture.
- Cook for 60-90 minutes, checking the consistency partway through and adding more hot water if it's thickening faster than you'd like.
- Season to taste with a little salt, or leave it plain and season individual bowls at the table, which is the more traditional approach.
Popular Toppings
Part of the joy of congee is customising each bowl with toppings. Some popular options include:
- Shredded poached or roast chicken for a heartier, protein-packed bowl
- Century egg, sliced, for a traditional and distinctive flavour
- Fried shallots for crunch and savoury depth
- Finely sliced spring onion and fresh ginger for brightness
- A drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil to finish
- White pepper for a gentle kick
- Use a much higher water ratio than normal rice—around 1:6 to 1:8
- Use the porridge setting if your cooker has one; otherwise extend the white rice cycle and top up water
- Stir occasionally to release starch for a silkier texture
- Fill the pot no more than halfway to avoid boil-over
- Top with shredded chicken, century egg, spring onion, fried shallots, and a splash of soy sauce and sesame oil
Once you've got the ratio and timing down, congee becomes an easy staple to fall back on—cheap, comforting, and endlessly adaptable depending on what toppings you have in the fridge. Let your rice cooker do the slow simmering while you get everything else ready.
Savoury Additions While Cooking
You don't have to keep congee plain while it cooks. A few slices of fresh ginger and a smashed garlic clove added to the pot at the start infuse the whole batch with gentle warmth as it simmers. If you'd like a richer, more savoury base, swap some or all of the water for chicken or vegetable stock—just be mindful that store-bought stock is often salted, so hold back on adding extra salt until you've tasted the finished congee.
Adding Protein Directly to the Pot
Rather than topping congee with pre-cooked chicken, you can add raw chicken thigh, a few pork ribs, or even white fish fillets directly into the pot partway through cooking. Chicken thigh or pork ribs should go in near the start so they have time to become tender and flavour the congee as it cooks; delicate fish fillets are best added in the final 10-15 minutes so they don't overcook and fall apart completely.
Adjusting Consistency After Cooking
If your congee turns out thicker than you'd like once it's finished, simply stir through a little extra hot water or stock until it reaches your preferred consistency—congee thickens further as it sits, especially once it cools slightly, so it's easy to loosen up. If it's thinner than you'd like, leave the lid off on the keep-warm setting for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to let some of the liquid evaporate.
Congee reheats and thickens as it sits in the fridge, so if you're making a batch ahead of time, slightly undercook it or use a touch more water than you think you'll need, knowing it will continue to thicken overnight.
Storing and Reheating
Congee keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. To reheat, add a splash of water or stock to loosen it back up, since it will have thickened considerably in storage, and warm gently on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring occasionally. It also freezes reasonably well for up to a month, though the texture will be slightly less silky once thawed—stirring vigorously while reheating helps bring it back together.