Jook is a special, savory rice porridge that’s popular for breakfast across Asia. It’s also known by the names congee, zhou, and lugaw depending on where in the world it’s served.

You can put anything you want in these porridges, but this one has the winning combination of mushrooms and ginger, offset by some green onions and a drizzle of hot chili oil. This last ingredient is optional, but it brings the dish to life if you enjoy a bit of spice.

There aren’t a ton of ingredients for this recipe and the biggest ingredient is just time. The rice and mushroom mixture needs to simmer on the stovetop for an hour or more for the rice to begin to break down into a porridge. It’s worth the wait though, because the flavor of the rice is changed in the process as well as the texture.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s delicious! If you’ve never had it before think of it like a more broken down version of risotto.

This is a traditional way to use up cooked rice that’s been leftover from the day before. The recipe directions below are for uncooked rice, so if you do want to use leftovers then reduce the cook time by about 20 minutes.

I used a mixture of vegetable broth and water for this recipe and the flavor was perfection. If you only use water you can add a bit more sesame oil and pepper to give it more flavor.

A little splash of rice vinegar on top adds a some brightness to the meal. Unlike white vinegar it’s so mild that it doesn’t really read as acidic on the tongue.

This recipe as written is vegan, but you can add shrimp, meat, or any kind of sauces you want to this versatile dish. To make this gluten-free use a gluten-free soy sauce or amino acid blend.

It might “only” be porridge, but it’s some of the best porridge I’ve ever had. In fact, I like it so much have made this for dinner on more than one occasion!