Photos by Kate Lewis
This recipe for Mushroom Ginger Steel-Cut Oat Congee comes from OATrageous Oatmeals. I bet you already guessed that, right?
What’s congee? Traditionally it’s a thick stew made of rice that’s cooked with extra water to create a porridge. Oats do the same thing here and I think it adds a bit more texture.
Mushroom Ginger Steel-cut Oat Congee
Served in a bowl, Congee is a thick Asian comfort food that can soothe a sore throat or just make you feel better after a bad day. This recipe makes enough for two but feel free to double or triple if you’re feeding more or want to keep some in the fridge for the duration of your cold. The mushrooms and ginger are great for getting your immune system back on track.
Ingredients
- 3 cups 710 ml vegetable broth or vegan chick'n broth
- 1/2 cup 48 g steel-cut oats
- 1/2 cup 35 g minced mushrooms (shiitakes are great)
- 1/4 cup 27 g minced carrot or sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon 6 g grated ginger
- hot pepper flakes, to taste
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Bring the broth, oats, mushrooms and minced carrot or sweet potato to a boil in a medium pot.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and add in the ginger, soy sauce and vinegar.
- Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the oats are cooked and the stew becomes thick.
- Before serving, add salt to taste and spice with hot pepper flakes.
Here’s what some of my favorite authors had to say about OATrageous Oatmeals:
“Kathy Hester has done it again. In this fabulous new cookbook she transforms the modest little oat from understated to remarkable!” -Allyson Kramer, author of Sweet Eats for All and Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats
“Wow! I’m so impressed with this new cookbook! Kathy definitely takes the “ho-hum” out of oatmeal. In addition to the breakfast staples, breads and desserts made with oats, you will find homemade pantry staples for vegan cooking, gorgeous soups and hearty stews, burgers, meatless loaves—all made with lots of international flair and very little fat. Honestly, I can’t wait to cook my way through this book!”—Bryanna Clark Grogan, author of World Vegan Feast; vegan chef and cooking teacher; blogger
“If you thought oats were just for breakfast or cookies, prepare to be dazzled. Kathy Hester has taken the humble grain to new heights in this collection of savory and sweet oat recipes that include blackberry mojito refrigerator oats, steel-cut oat sausage crumbles, oat dosas with coconut chutney, and much more.” —Robin Robertson, bestselling author of Vegan Planet, Quick-Fix Vegan, One-Dish Vegan and many more
“I absolutely adore Kathy Hester’s amazingly creative and delicious recipes using oats. She will have you thinking of oats in brand new ways, and you will suddenly want to buy them in bulk. Thank you, Kathy!” —Julie Hasson, author of Vegan Casseroles, Vegan Pizza, Vegan Diner and more
Marlee
I’d be most excited to win the measuring cups in the drawing. Mine are all worn out.
Maria
Wow, Kathy, that congee looks great! When it cools off around here, I’m definitely trying that. Thanks, and congrats on the new book!
Mary Sy
I’m excited to try this soup. I’very never used oats in savory dishes.
My measuring cups and spoons have seen better days. I’d love to win new ones.
Jinger
What great reviews! I am intrigued just by the congee recipe.
Jinger
my craziest oats dish is preacher cookies, lol
Jacqui Pappas
I could really use some new measuring cups. I would love to win the book, too!
KathyD
I think the oddest thing I’ve made with oats was a mock meat. I can’t remember how it turned out or where I got the recipe. I eat oats just about every day for breakfast, though.
Tierney
I would love to win the measuring cups!
Tierney
My husband loves breakfast oatmeal with peanut butter and Hershey’s kisses stirred in. It’s more of a dessert, though!
Pink-Vegan
I like the measuring cups !
Beth
I would love an OXO whisk or measuring cups! I love kitchen gadgets!
Beth
The craziest dish I’ve made with oats would be a meatless loaf.
Rebecca Parsons
I like the measuring cups and spoons.
Rebecca Parsons
I made oatmeal with oats. It was good though.
Michele W
I love oatmeal for breakfast but have also been known to add it to my smoothies. Never thought about adding it to savory dishes until I saw this cookbook.
Michele W
I love Oxo tools and just got their mandoline. It’s a tough choice but if I had to pick the one I like most of the ones shown here it would probably be the scoop because it’s so versatile. It could be used for ice cream, making cookies, vegan “meat”balls and burgers, and I’ve seen people use scoops to fill cupcake/muffin tins.
cynthia
My favorite OXO tool is my can opener, but these all look like fun!
cynthia
Just made veggie dogs tonight using oats — yum!
Ann P-L
I love my OXO peeler!
Ann P-L
I’ve made savory oats w/ an egg, sauteed spinach and onions.
EMC
Are those little beaker-like measuring cups? Because I’d love those!
EMC
My craziest oat dish? It only consists of part of the recipe, but I made a savory herb-infused gluten-free waffle using oats and buckwheat. Tasty!
Lydia Claire
I use my OXO salad spinner all the time!
Marcy
I’ve been replacing all of my old tools withOXO as they die. I love my OXO nutmeg grater. My next purchase will be the OXO cherry pitter.
Judy
Oxo vegetable peeler was my 1st piece so many years ago and still my favorite. Then my whisk, then my bowls. I am a oat fan and the congee looks amazing thank you for running this chance to win!
Bobby
I just made this and it is wonderfull! A couple of revisions, though. A little garlic goes well and fish sauce really kicks it up a notch. Don’t be afraid of the fish sauce. The foul smell disappears and it really ups the umami flavor. Chicken bone broth is good too.
Kathy Hester
To veganize his suggestions I would add some tamarind paste which I use whenever fish sauce is called for, or some nuttritional yeast or your favorite vegan chicken-less broth.
lyn
I love my oxo measuring cups
Jaime
I have the very large cutting board. I can chop everything on one board without having to dirty another dish, and it fits over my sink so if I’m running short on space I can still chop.
Marissa
My measuring spoons have all the numbers rubbed off of them and some are missing, it’d be great to get a new set!
Marissa
The craziest thing I’ve made with oats is an egg, veggie, spinach, and oat cake thing…..It was green!
Kate
I love ALL of the OXO tools! I especially love the salad spinner.
Deb E
I do love OXO tools with the stiff hands I sometimes have. My fave gets the most use and that’s my bowl with a small handle to hold on to. It keeps it from flying across the room sometimes! Love them all though.
Deb E
My craziest dish was a potato topped with oats that looked a little odd and probably didn’t taste that great but I just love a good crunchy granola/oat topping. Maybe I’ll try oats and cheese topping on my potatoes next time!
barbara n
I love my OXO garlic press!
Marti Miller Hall
I love my OXO Mandoline slicer. I use it literally every single day
Marti Miller Hall
I made sriracha oatmeal once. It was pretty good!
jennipher
I hope I win. 🙂
Tracy Ewing
I love the whisks!
Dhonna Schwertl
I’ve always wanted a baker’s dusting wand…I think it would be simply magical!
lili yen
I could use a whisk!
Loulou
The V mandolin
Lauren Kage
That tea strainer could really come in handy.
Thanks for posting this recipe; I have everything for mushroom congee at home–that made dinner planning super easy.
Amanda H
I really really need new measuring cups and a garlic press – tools that I just don’t want to go out and buy but using the ones I have until I can’t anymore ha ha.
Amanda H
Craziest dish I ever made with oats was adding them to my morning smoothie – adds a crazy filling quality and great texture. Not too crazy but different enough that you wouldn’t think of it as something to do normally.
Heather
I make overnight oats in my slow cooker almost every other day. I love oats in all its forms and I can’t wait to check out your book! I also happen to be a fan of OXO products. Their mandolin slicer is extremely convenient. 🙂
Min K
My fave OXO tool is the whisk (and I’m looking forward to winning another).
Min K
First time I made an oatmeal face mask it seemed crazy (but it’s not).
julie
The measuring cups and spoons!
julie
The craziest dish with oatmeal…chocolate, peanut butter pudding!
Andrea
I can see I’m not taking full advantage of oats. I think I need your new book!
Amanda
What a lovely recipe. I’ve never had congee, but I can’t wait to try this!
Jeffrey
I like my OXO food scale, use it all the time!
T
I just made a double batch! It’s heavenly! Added a little nooch and extra soy sauce for a beefy flavor boost.
As for crazy oats uses, oh man, everything! Skin treatments for psoriasis. Milk. Desperate egg replacer. Pancakes, cakes, all manner of baking including countless loaves or veg burgers. I have crazier plans for oats that include a cheese recipe lol.
Thanks for the great recipe post! I have been looking for a clear and concise English language congee recipe for more than a year!
Jake
I’m confused by why the article talks about steel cut oats, but the actual recipe uses rolled oats. The two are very different.
Kathy Hester
I’m not sure how that happened, but the recipe uses steel-cut oats and I’ve updated it.