Rice for Breakfast: From Congee to Hot Cereal
In San Francisco's Chinatown, the restaurants fill on cold mornings with hungry diners enjoying a warming bowl of congee. This nourishing rice porridge is a popular breakfast among Chinese-Americans, and many non-Chinese San Franciscans have come to crave it, too.
Plain congee is made by simmering long- or medium-grain rice in a large volume of salted water or broth until the rice swells and opens (the Chinese say it has "flowered") and creates a thick, smooth soup. For the Chinese, it is the ultimate comfort food. They eat it unadorned when they don't feel well, or to balance their system after indulging in rich food or a few to many alcoholic beverages.
But more often, congee will be treated to a variety of crunchy, aromatic and spicy additions. This is where the fun begins. Chopped roasted peanuts, chopped cilantro, sliced chilies, cooked chicken, crisp fried shallots, sliced scallions, shredded ginger, salted fish, sesame oil—some or all of these will be offered on the side for the diner to stir into the hot porridge as desired.
Rice offers other possibilities for those who love a hot breakfast. On a breakfast or brunch buffet, offer a buttery bowl of steaming white or brown rice (or both) with a wide range of add-ons so guests can start their day just the way they like. Consider the possibilities:
- For sweeteners: cinnamon sugar, brown sugar, palm sugar, honey, maple syrup
- For dried fruit: golden raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, bananas, apricots, pears or dates
- For fresh fruit: bananas, blueberries, mango, pineapple
- For crunch: toasted almonds, walnuts or pecans
- For weekend brunch, why not introduce your customers to hot calas, the yeasted rice fritters of New Orleans? You don't have to be Creole to believe that a warm, sugar-dusted fritter with a glass of fresh juice makes a great start to the day.
- Rice waffles are another brilliant idea from old New Orleans, worth reviving for brunch. The golden waffles are traditionally sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, but powdered sugar or butter and maple syrup are equally fine ideas.