27 Best Chinese Congee Side Dishes (+ Recipes)

Chinese people love their rice porridge 粥 (also known as congee or jook)- it's a childhood comfort food! Delicious plain or with ingredients inside (such as century egg or chicken), congee is usually served with some toppings and side dishes. Here is a list of the best Chinese congee sides for cozy dinners (with recipes, where appropriate.)

There isn't any hard and fast rule as to what constitutes a congee side dish- my family often serves our regular stir-fried dishes such as stir-fried bok chow or broccoli in oyster sauce etc.

However, if you have no idea what to serve with Chinese congee, here are some ideas for you. (Besides side dishes, there are popular congee toppings such as fried dough fritters (you tiao.)

Scroll all the way down for more information on congee and popular congee recipes.

One of the most popular snacks to serve with Chinese congee are preserved vegetables such as:

1. Fermented tofu (2nd dish on the right of the bowl of porridge (in the biggest bowl, at the bottom of the photo) shown above)- this is my FAVORITE congee side. It's so savory, a real umami bomb!
2. Pickled lettuce (shown in the photo below)
3. Pickled cucumber 花瓜- you can easily make this at home by marinating the cucumber in a soy sauce mixture.
4. Pickled radish
5. Pickled white gourd (more commonly served with Taiwanese congee than Cantonese)
6. Dried beancurd sticks
7. Fermented or dried bamboo shoots
8. Fermented black beans (usually stir-fried with oyster in Taiwanese congee shops)

The above are usually sold in bottled jars in Asian supermarkets. (Very few people make them at home these days.)

You will need these simple ingredients

• Japanese cucumbers- cleaned and cut into 1 cm rounds then boiled for 1 minute. After that let it cool before pouring into a (sterilised) jar with the following marinade.  

For the marinade:

• 5 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 ½ tablespoon sugar
• 2 ½ tbsp white rice vinegar
• 2 pieces dried licorice root (This gives the cucumbers their characteristic taste so try to get it from your TCM shop. Note that you can't take liquorice with some medicine though.)

Note: Store in the fridge and remember to use clean utensils when taking some.

1. Chinese sausage- you can use extras in Chinese claypot rice
2. Meat floss (traditionally pork, but there are also halal chicken, fish and beef versions. Known as bahu, this is 1 of the most popular food souvenirs that tourists buy when visiting Singapore. If you're interested in foodie travel, here are some fun cooking classes in Singapore.)
3. Chinese pork jerky (ba kwa/ bak kwa)
4. Pan-fried luncheon meat

1. You tiao- a must have side dish for Cantonese congee and 1 of my favourites!
2. Braised peanuts
3. Salted clams (again, more commonly served with Taiwanese congee than Cantonese)
4. Wheat gluten

For the braised peanuts, you boil the peanuts in a mixture of soy sauce, oyster sauce and other spices till nice and soft.

1. A simple fried egg
2. Chye Poh omelette (or preserved turnip/ radish omelette. This is commonly served with Teochew rice porridge as well and another staple congee side dish in my houses)
3. Braised eggs (even better, this can be made in advance! Recipe below.)

Taiwanese people also like to eat pan-fried pork liver or minced pork and cucumber with their congee.

Chinese people can eat congee for every meal, even breakfast, and it's especially beloved when one is ill, as it's light and easy on the stomach.

In addition, most of us have fond childhood memories of this dish so it's a comfort food. It can be a very frugal dish made with simple ingredients, or a sumptuous one using rehydrated dried seafood.

There is more than 1 type of Chinese rice porridge, such as Teochew porridge and Cantonese congee (i.e. all congees are rice porridges, but not all porridges are congee!)

To be more specific, congee is a type of Chinese rice porridge or gruel with a thicker texture. Most commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese congee has an almost starchy and thick texture with the rice pretty much broken down after a long cooking period. (The challenge of cooking Cantonese congee is how to replicate the smooth & thick consistency you get at restaurants.)

Other porridges, such as Teochew porridge, are more like rice grains in water!

For Taiwanese congee (usually called xi fan 稀飯 or muê 糜), the rice is usually cooked plain or with sweet potato (vs Cantonese congee which is usually cooked with tofu skin or gingko nuts.)

What is your favourite congee side dish, Cantonese, Taiwanese or otherwise? Let me know if I've missed it out, and do share this on your social media if you've found it useful!