Instant Pot Congee

Recipe from Liyan Chen

Adapted by Melissa Clark

Published Nov. 23, 2022

Instant Pot Congee
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
4(501)
Comments
Read comments

You can use any leftover roasted meat to flavor this mild, comforting congee, which is delicately seasoned with white pepper. Adapted from Liyan Chen of New Jersey, this recipe is a perfect use for all the bits and pieces of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey (or chicken or duck during the rest of the year). If you’d like to, add the shredded lettuce just before serving so it retains some of its texture. Then garnish the top with any combination of scallions, ginger, soy sauce or chile sauce that pleases you. Note that congee will thicken as it cools, but you can thin it out again with a little water or stock. —Melissa Clark

Featured in: Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Makes the Best, Coziest Soups

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2 to 3cups diced roasted duck, chicken or turkey (preferably dark meat), with some of the skin
  • 1cup jasmine rice, rinsed
  • 1½teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
  • ½teaspoon ground white pepper, plus more to taste
  • 2cups chopped romaine (optional)
  • Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
  • Thinly slivered ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil or chile crisp, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

353 calories; 23 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 249 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In the pot of an electric pressure cooker, add roasted meat, rice, salt, pepper and 6 cups water. Cover and cook either on the porridge setting or at high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.

  2. Step 2

    Unseal the pot and check the rice. If it isn’t soft enough for your taste, cook on high pressure for another 2 minutes, then manually release the pressure.

  3. Step 3

    Uncover the pot and taste, adding more salt and pepper if needed. If it looks too thick, stir in some more water. Stir in romaine, if using, until it just starts to wilt. Sprinkle scallions over and serve with any of the other garnishes, if you like.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
501 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Cheryl

Rinse the rice with plain water, drain, then put the still-wet rice in the freezer for at least 8 hours, or longer if you like (I make a large batch and use as needed). Combine frozen rice and cooking liquid of choice, bring to a boil, lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes. That's it. No Instant Pot needed. Freezing wet rice jump-starts the breaking up of the rice. Thanks to The Woks of Life for this wonderful idea, which I have used many times.

dwhang

Substitute water with vegetable stock and add 2 cloves of garlic for more richer flavorful congee.

JenDayton

Add ginger and star anise (2).

Kat

I added 4 frozen drumsticks I had in my freezer to the pot and it was a lovely addition!

Karen M

This is a wonderful Instant Pot dump and go recipe. After you make it once, it becomes a pantry staple recipe that can be adjusted to whatever greens you have around to toss in at the end.

Astrid

Recently made congee after a bout of GI illness. I was exhausted and starving and afraid to eat anything. Congee was restorative, nourishing, and delicious. It's really easy and forgiving. I made mine in my rice cooker - most have a "porridge" setting. I cooked just rice and water. Added seasonings and some leftovers on top of the cooked congee.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Credits

Adapted from Liyan Chen

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.