Quinoa congee with vegetables and tofu

Congee is a savoury rice porridge served in many Asian countries.  This version uses a mixture of rice and quinoa and adds vegetables and tofu. It is a light yet filling meal.

 

Servings: 2-3
    

Ingredients
50 g rice (I used short grain red rice)

50 g quinoa

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

About 100 g tofu (not the silken variety), thinly sliced

1 teaspoon soya sauce (I used tamari)

1 teaspoon oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and sauté the carrot, celery and ginger for 5 minutes. Add the rice and quinoa, mix well and cook for another minute. Add about 3 cups/750ml/12 oz water, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 25-35 minutes. Check occasionally and add more water if a lot of it gets absorbed. The cooking time will vary according to the variety of rice. The rice I used took about 30 minutes to cook. Since the quinoa cooks quite quickly, ensure that the rice is cooked before proceeding further. 

In the meantime, heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and toast the tofu for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown on both sides. Chop the slices into smaller bits and keep aside. When the rice has cooked, uncover and bring the mixture to the boil, adding some of water, if it is too thick (I added about 1 cup/250 ml). Add the soya sauce and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes. Taste first before adding salt as the soya sauce can be quite salty. I did not add any salt. Serve in bowls topped with the tofu bits and sprinkled with black and more soya sauce, if desired.