How to Eat Fugally – the Asian Congee

Congee or Lugaw, it doesn’t really matter. It is basically a rice soup dish usually common in parts of Asia where people have the knack of eating frugally delicious food. This is a great dish when one has leftover meat or chicken because the dish is healthy, high in fiber and yummy.

Gather all your leftover chicken from last night’s dinner. Same if your leftover is beef. In fact, some people in Asia even use tuna or fish for this dish called Congee. After gathering the leftovers, sautee. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then boil rice (brown rice or unmilled rice is the best for an even BETTER meal) in water until it gets to reach a rather thick and creamy texture. Add little bits of the sauteed meat or chiken or fish into the rice porriage. Then add green onions or celery (or even both). Season to taste and enjoy eating it on a bowl which is the Asian way. Now, wasn’t that a good and healthy meal?

There is something universally Asian about the Congee or the rice porriage. In some other countries, bits and pieces of peanuts are added to the dish, thus, making it sweeter. In the Philippines, mushroom sare also added. In Indonesia and Vietnam, their rice porriage is HOT – meaning they do add a lot of chili pepper to the dish. It depends on one’s taste really.

Eating frugally and yet enjoying the meal is said to be a virtue. I always liked this disn because it seems to be healthy and one can come up with any variation of the recipe which matches ones taste. Also to be noted is the fact that people in Asia never die of starvation because they know how to come up with filling meals such as Congee, which could make them last for hours without feeling hungry. The best Congee or rice porriage however is one that is also mixed with TOFU because that adds more proteinn to the meal.

Need to go on a diet? Try the Congee diet!