
This is an incredibly comforting and healing food. It is reminiscent of a Chinese egg drop soup, the broken rice lends a rich, starchy consistency to the soup that just feels amazing going down. I had squirreled away the most gorgeous corn this past summer and in lieu of BEING DONE WITH THIS WINTER and getting ready for the spring….I pulled it out of the freezer. Of course the ingredients can change but the combination was so satisfying plus the addition of the Beyond the Meat vegan chicken…it just a bowl of yum. I love this as a breakfast too!
White Girl Gingered Cabbage & Corn Congee
6 strips of Beyond Meat Vegan No Chicken, thawed, cut into small pieces
3/4c white broken rice or short-grain white rice
1 vegetable bouillon
1/2c yellow or red split dal
2-inch piece of ginger, minced or grated
2 stalks celery, medium dice or cut on the bias
1/4 small head of green cabbage, chopped
2 teaspoon salt + more to taste (I add ½ smoked salt, ½ pink)
½ large onion, minced
2 clove garlic, minced
1c corn niblets
2T coconut oil
1/2t smoked chipotle powder
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6 to 8 cups boiling water
In a large pot, heat up 2t of coconut oil. Add in a pinch of the minced ginger, a pinch of minced garlic and about 1T of the minced onion. Sauté the vegetables over medium high heat just until golden. Add in the chopped cabbage and continue to sauté over medium high heat, just until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside.
In the same pot, add the remaining coconut oil. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and celery and sauté over medium heat just until golden. Add in rice and the split peas and the vegetable bouillon. Cover with about 4-5 cups of boiling water and mix well. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Allow the mixture to cook partially covered for at least 45 minutes, stirring frequently, adding water if necessary- there should be plenty of water for the porridge to ‘grow’ into. After about 30 minutes, add in some of the salt and chipotle and check for seasonings. It should be thickening as the rice and the dal start to break down. Add water in as necessary to achieve the desired consistency- I prefer mine on the thicker side, but still very much soup like. Overall, it should be ready after about an hour of cooking but will only get softer over time.
In the last minutes of cooking, add in the corn, the vegan chicken, and the sautéed cabbage.
I like to also add in some fresh ginger at the end to give it a fresh kick.
Salt and pepper to taste…this IS comfort food.