fftf: savory asian-inspired oatmeal 🍲

This hearty breakfast is inspired by a dish called Jook, which I first encountered at an SF restaurant called B Star (one of my long time favs!). According to their menu, they describe jook as "Chinese-style rice porridge cooked with mushroom and ginger; topped with scallions, peanuts, wonton chips, pickled mustard greens and chili oil." Sounds pretty tasty. If you search for "jook" on wikipedia, it will redirect you to the "congee" page, which I found enlightening to read - so many variations on rice porridge across Asia!

I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't know that I ever actually tried the jook at B Star, even though I've eaten there many times in the 9 years I've lived here. Their menu is so appealing that I was always more tempted by something else! But I'm pretty sure I started making this oatmeal after that first jook menu sighting...

Anyways... Here's my very basic guidelines for how you make it below. This particular version pictured above is a little more involved since I added some veggies, but I've also just made oatmeal normally and topped it with a fried egg, a dash of soy sauce, and some scallions. Simple and still super delish.

Savory Asian-Inspired Oatmeal with mushrooms and bok choy
by Jessica Lioon // Garlic Press Jess

Ingredients:

oatmeal + water to cook it
soy sauce
mushrooms + bok choy, or really any veg/greens to saute
eggs
scallions, avocado, kimchi, pickled veg, furikake, or chili crisp/oil all make great toppings!

Instructions:

Make oatmeal as you usually would/follow instructions on the box. (I was using steel cut oats so I made them in the instant pot for speed! works great)
While the oatmeal is cooking, sauté mushrooms and bok choy stems in some butter or oil until nicely browned and cooked through. When they are almost done, add a dash of soy sauce and the bok choy greens and cook another minute till just wilted.
While veggies are sautéing/when you think oatmeal will be done in a few minutes... start frying an egg (or soft boil or poach if you prefer!).
Hopefully all will be done around the same time, and then... fill bowl(s) with oatmeal, top with soy-sauce sautéed veg and fried egg. Add kimchi and/or pickled veggies and some avocado on top if you have it! Furikake is also amazing on here.
Top with more soy sauce as needed as you eat. Mix it all up and enjoy!

love,
Jess

All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.

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In case you missed out, here are a few past issues to check out:

October 8: delicata squash with surprise crunchy insides 🍂
October 1: crispy✨ roasted cabbage: if you don't know, now you know!
September 24: stewwwwwwed tomatoes 🍅 and clean-out-the-fridge soup
September 17: next on the chopping 🪓 block ... plastic wrap!

September 10: when you're lost - spice, sauce, or toss!
August 13: eliminate this annoying task from your cooking 🙅‍♀️
August 6: hold the cutting board 🍑 save the JUICE 🍅
July 23: finding a FLOW state in cooking ✨
April 2: I gasped when I looked in the mirror and saw this

March 5: the tinder message I'm still thinking about 1 year later 🔥

Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!

I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone! Check out this article about them.