According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), winter is the season for “storing and stashing,” for your body to preserve its strength. What could be better than this multigrain congee? It warms, hydrates, and replenishes the nutrients your body needs.
A Healthier, More Flavorful Congee Recipe
With the December holidays and Chinese New Year celebrations in the rearview mirror, we all must wave bye-bye to the excuses to indulge. And I’m not just talking about New Year’s resolutions—it’s time to think about eating healthy again!
In many ways, I prefer the multigrain congee to white rice congee. Multigrain congee is more robust in texture and earthier in flavor, not to mention so much healthier. Because this congee recipe uses whole grains, it’s high in fiber!
Congee In Half the Cooking Time
We all know that cooking congee can take a long time. That’s why I introduced my 20-minute Congee recipe. The secret is frozen, rinsed white rice, which slashes the cooking time while still yielding that slow-cooked texture. Plus, no special appliances or gadgets needed!
The science behind it is that the water soaks into the rice, and it freezes, expands, and breaks the rice kernel into tiny pieces—dramatically reducing the cooking time because the starches can be released and cooked faster.
Now it’s time to apply this time-saving method to a multigrain porridge! When some readers commented that they applied the frozen washed rice method to other grains without success, I had to investigate.
Multigrain porridge generally takes even longer to cook, as there are outer husks involved, so I realized the grains needed to soak in order for them to soften and become more absorbent. What’s more, some whole grains have thicker husks and are overall less absorbent than others, like wild rice, for example.
The secret step? Soaking the grains for 1-2 hours, draining them, freezing them, and then cooking for 30 minutes. If you like to eat multigrain congee often, you can apply the soaking and freezing steps to a large batch and then cook as you need it.
The Magic of Thermal Cooking
Another trick I’ve discovered is boiling the congee twice and turning off the heat between boiling. I found the congee cooks more evenly––and with less risk of boiling over––with its own thermal energy.
I know it’s hard to believe, but you need to give it a try. The same concept has been used in energy-saving thermal cookers, used by folks on the road. An inner pot is insulated inside an outer pot, letting food cook for 2-3 hours after the initial heat has been applied!
One More Quick Tip from a Reader
One of our readers mentioned that her mother once told her not to stir the congee when cooking. She said that not stirring prevents the congee from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
I promised her that I’d try her mom’s trick, and when I did, I found that it really works! You should give it a go as well!
So pick out your favorite porridge grains—any combination will work—and let’s get cooking!
Multigrain Congee Recipe Instructions
Soak the grains in water for 2 hours. You may choose to add in grains that don’t require soaking (e.g., if you’re including white rice). If so, those can be simply rinsed and added after the soaking process.
Rinse and drain the grains. Put the washed rice in a resealable bag.
Freeze for at least 8 hours before use.
When you’re ready to cook, you’ll need 4 cups of water for every cup of frozen multigrain mixture. Put everything in a pot with the lid on, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, turn off the heat with the lid on. Do not stir. Let the congee sit on the stove for 15 minutes.
During this time, the congee will continue to cook, and you won’t have to worry about it boiling over. After 15 minutes, turn the heat on high and bring to a boil again. Once boiling, turn off the heat and keep the lid on. Again, do not stir. Let it sit on the stove for 15 minutes, or until ready to serve.
At this point, the longer you wait, the thicker the congee becomes. I usually cook it in the morning and let it sit with the lid on. Then I reheat right before serving. This saves tons of time!
30 Minute Multigrain Congee
Ingredients
Any combination of the following:
- brown rice
- brown sweet rice
- black rice
- black sweet rice
- barley
- wild rice
- farro
- sorghum
+ 2 tablespoons goji berries (optional antioxidant booster)
Instructions
- Soak the grains in water for 2 hours. You may choose to add in grains that don’t require soaking (e.g., if you’re including white rice). If so, those can be simply rinsed and added after the soaking process.
- Wash and drain the grains. Put the washed rice in a resealable bag, and freeze for at least 8 hours before use.
- When you’re ready to cook, you’ll need 4 cups of water for every cup of frozen multigrain mixture. Put everything in a pot with the lid on, and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, turn off the heat with the lid on. Do not stir. Let the congee sit on the stove for 15 minutes.
- During this time, the congee will continue to cook, and you won’t have to worry about it boiling over. After 15 minutes, turn the heat on high and bring to a boil again. Once boiling, turn off the heat and keep the lid on. Again, do not stir. Let it sit on the stove for 15 minutes, or until ready to serve.
- At this point, the longer you wait, the thicker the congee becomes. I usually cook it in the morning and let it sit with the lid on. Then I reheat right before serving. This saves tons of time!
Excited to try this! Hope you can help with a question that has been torturing me for years. I miss the barley that made it’s own gravy. I think that there is a lot of nutrition in that gravy. Can’t find it anywhere. When I ask store clerks, even older ones, I just get a blank stare like nobody ever knew of the way barley used to be. Does anyone here know where to get the old style barley?
I am afraid I don’t know either :-|
I get the Mixed 7 Grains from H Mart, which are Brown Rice, Brown Sweet Rice, Barley, Red Bean, Black Bean, Black Sweet Rice, Mung Bean. which I soak for 3 + hours. After rinsing, I put that in the Instant Pot, with cinnamon, nutmeg, dates (regular and jujube), shredded coconut, ginger, and substitute coconut milk for the water. Um, about 2 cups grains and six cups of milk. I could add two more cups of milk, I think, but it’s a three quart IP and I’m pleased with the texture as is, right now.
A bowl of that and a salted duck egg can keep me going for a longish time in the morning.
I am looking at ways to vary this, as I’ll be called back to work soon and will need to bring breakfast and lunch with me and I’ll want to change it up every so often… :-)
Hi Jaid, you did not freeze the rice mixture––that’s the key to this “quick” technique.
LOL, I’d been doing that with the white rice, but only found this particular recipe yesterday. I hadn’t thought of doing it with the multigrain rice/pulse mix.
I just wanted to share that I used a grain mix that included pulses and made a sweet version using coconut milk and dates.
Awesome, Jaid! I, myself, prefer multigrain to white rice, I love its texture.
Hi, at what point should I add in the lean meat and century eggs for this multi grain porridge?
Hi Steph, you should add after the 30-minutes for this multigrain congee. Cook it for another 10 minutes or so after adding meat and century eggs.
Do the Goji Berries get added when you start to cook or do they also need to be soaked/frozen with the rices?
Hi Audrey, you should add it right before cooking.
Any chance you’d be up for experimenting with an instant pot, either pressure cooking the congee, or using a water bath? I like how my IP cooks dried beans and am wondering if I might have a similar success with this recipe.
Hi Mara, you really should try it in your IP just like how you did with the dried beans.
Love the idea of using mixed grains! Not sure the rest of the house would agree to it, but I’d surely do it for myself!
I’ve been using the intermittent heat method for a few years now. Typically will start it while I’m eating dinner, let it cook until I’ve washed up the dishes and cleaned up….I’ll turn off the heat, and let the residual heat do some more of its magic and finish the whole pot later. If I’ve got stock from a cooked chicken or turkey, I’ll use that, but on those occasions where we just need a pot of comfort, I’ll use canned broth (gasp!) and maybe a bit of chicken soup base to boost the flavor.
Good timing, that’s today’s lunch!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing your cooking tips.
There are so many Instapot recipies that have been adapted, my favorite being the most gelatinous, rich and silky bone broths. I am wondering if you and your team have experimented with dishes such as this using an ip. I know 2 hours freeze time is not a huge deal most of the time, but I would love to know if there is a way to make it without this step when the urge hits and you need it now lol. Especially during times like this when my house is like an infirmary with winter colds and such. Also, can you leave a package frozen long term…weeks instead of the 2 hours? My freezer stays full of broths and meats on sale so space is a premium at times. I love your site and recipies!!
Hi Cindy, even though I have not tried it, I’m pretty certain you can cook this multigrain congee (without soaking) using the porridge setting.
Will the thermal-cooking trick work with 20-minute white rice congee?
Yes, Cheryl.
Hi guys, a congee question. I made some seasoned basmati rice (sorry, but that’s what I had) and then spread it in a big sautee pan, to make soccarat (not sure of spelling). It was tasty, but tough. Next day, I gently heated a pot of broth and V8 juice, and let the rice sit in it for a while. At dinner, heated it, and found it delicious (all the Maillard reaction flavor still there), soft and tender. Is THAT congee (althoug peculiar)?
Technically no, Deborah, what you made is (savory) boiled rice which is also a thing. Congee is usually made with raw grains, not cooked grains.