Okayu

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Okayu is a type of rice porridge or congee eaten in Japan. It is similar to congee found throughout East and South-East Asia. It is known (sometimes in slightly different forms) as "zhou" in Chinese, "chao" in Vietnamese, and rice gruel, rice congee, or rice porridge in English.

Ingredients and preparation

Okayu is thinner and softer than most rice dishes. This is achieved by boiling the rice in a greater amount of water and/or cooking it for a longer period of time than normal, to obtain more complete absorption of the water. Most okayu recipes recommend cooking the rice in approximately six times its weight in water, for 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how soft the cook wishes to make the dish.

Okayu may simply consist of rice and water; in many recipes, salt and sometimes negi (welsh onion) are also added for seasoning. Secondary foods may be added to enhance flavour; salmon, roe, ginger, eggs, and umeboshi are among the most common. Similarly, miso or chicken stock may be used to flavor the broth. Chinese and Korean versions of the dish sometimes use broth, while the Japanese versions use water.

Cultural meanings

In Japan okayu is popularly known as a food served to the ill, occupying a similar cultural status to that of chicken noodle soup in America. Its easily digestible nature is also responsible for its status as the first solid food served to Japanese infants; it is used to transition them from liquids to the thicker rice dishes which constitute much of the Japanese diet.

In China, on the other hand, congee is more often eaten for breakfast or a late-night snack, but it is also often served to those who are ill.

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