Brown Rice Congee

Weny wasn’t feeling well the other day, and I decided to make her congee after she said, “Ray, make me congee”. I was never a huge congee fan growing up. My mom usually made it on Saturday mornings before Chinese school. Perhaps my dislike of congee stemmed from my negative associations of having to sacrifice Saturday morning cartoons for learning Chinese. I always thought of it as Chinese oatmeal (bland). It’s basically rice that is boiled far beyond its typical preparation into a porridge form and topped with an assortment of toppings and garnishes. Weny loves it. I’ve grown to tolerate it. In order to impart extra flavor. I cooked mine in a homemade chicken and pork stock, but store-bought stock is convenient to use as well. I also used brown rice and cooked it a little less than usual so that there was still a little texture to the rice. You can easily adjust the amount of liquid and time you cook to your desired consistency. Top it with your favorite savory ingredients and balance it with something salty, sour, crunchy, etc.

Main Ingredients

5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked 20 minutes, sliced (save soaking liquid)

5 cloves garlic, minced

1-inch piece ginger, minced

2 cups brown short grain rice, rinsed

2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

10 cups stock or water

Salt

White Pepper

Kitchen Tools

Chefs Knife

Cutting Board

Fine Mesh Colander

6 -Quart Dutch Oven

Wooden Spatula

Liquid Measuring Cup

Salad Spinner

Small Pot

Optional Toppings

12 oz salmon, skinned, cubed half inch

Bok choy leaves separated

Peanuts, toasted

Boiled egg

Pickled daikon and carrots

Scallions, sliced

Ginger, julienned

Sesame oil

Soy sauce

Fish sauce

Instructions

1. Soak dried mushrooms in warm water for 20 minutes.

2. Mince garlic and ginger.

3. Rinse brown rice with cold water, drain through a fine-mesh colander, and repeat 2-3 times.

4. Heat vegetable oil in a 6-quart heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven. Sauté garlic and ginger in oil until fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until fragrant.

5. Add brown rice and sauté until coated.

6. Add mushroom soaking liquid, stock or water and bring to a boil. Lower temperature to low and cook at a simmer covered for 1 hour. Stir every 10 minutes or so to prevent sticking.

8. While congee is cooking, prepare toppings of your choice. I cut salmon, washed the bok choy, toasted peanuts, sliced ginger, and scallions.

9. After 1 hour of cooking, check to see the consistency of rice. Add additional stock or water if needed towards the consistency you like. Begin to add the desired seasoning. I simply added salt and white pepper. Later on, we added sesame oil soy sauce and fish sauce in each individual serving.

10. Cook an additional 30 minutes with your seasonings and adjust consistency to your preference and taste. Finish preparing your toppings. I boiled an egg 6 minutes and 30 seconds to get a perfectly runny yolk, washed and cut bok choy, ginger, and scallions. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, I added bok choy and salmon in the last 10 minutes to steam on top of the congee.

11. Once congee is cooked to your liking begin assembling your bowl. I began with the congee and then added the bok choy, salmon, sliced egg, pickled daikon and carrots, sliced scallions, toasted peanuts, and sliced ginger. If you end up making this, let me know how yours turned out and what your toppings you used!

Ramen eggs always clutch

Working and Living in NYC

I grew up in a small town in Central New Jersey (Central New Jersey is a thing, come fight me), about 45 minutes to 1 hour outside of the city. I have a love-hate relationship with NYC depending on who I’m around. I’m proud to have lived near the biggest city in the USA, and that I can navigate my way around. On the other hand, I don’t like many of the same things most people would complain about living in the city. Crowds, cost of living, small apartments, strong attitudes and personalities, crime, garbage, etc. However, most of the people I knew growing up still live in the city, and I’ve visited many times over the years and had an amazing time eating around the city. Although I said I never wanted to live in NYC, a part of me felt like I needed to just to prove a point and have the experience.

After graduating from the CIA, NYC seemed like the right choice because now I can always say I gave it a shot.

NYC Isn't So Bad When It's Like This.

One of my best friends and I have argued about the pros and cons of living in NYC for nearly a decade. When she found out I was moving there after school, she took the time to really pour salt on my wounds for giving in to the draw of the big city. While we didn’t actually get to see each other as much as I expected due to conflicting schedules of restaurant life, I’m glad I could finally use this as an opportunity to really back up my sentiments on the city. To really enjoy the city, you just need to have thick skin and not let the annoyances overwhelm you. The apartment I was living in was fantastic, but it came at a price. I still had to be pretty diligent about finances, but having worked in a white-collar job for years before entering the industry, I was in a much better place financially than most would be out of school. My advice to new students is to just be diligent and make sacrifices for the experience of living in a city. I think the experience is rewarding and will help strengthen you as a cook for your future careers. There’s so much living in a big city that can teach you and so much you can experience living with like-minded ambitious people.

When it comes time to leave, I can guarantee you that you will be stronger for it.

In early 2019, I found myself living in NYC and was going to start working in February. I had previously staged at Daniel before deciding to work at The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee for my externship but now had to find another place to work. I knew I wanted to try working at an East or Southeast Asian restaurant and after several interviews, I narrowed my choices down to a Michelin starred Japanese restaurant in Soho, a trendy Southeast Asian spot in the Lower East Side and a Thai sister restaurant to a Michelin starred spot in Nolita. I eventually opted for the Thai restaurant to get more responsibility and having a good conversation with the owner. The kitchen was pretty small and hot, but it fulfilled the biggest items of my checklist including more job responsibilities early on, being Asian cuisine, and being a challenge for myself.

I'm still not great at wok tossing.

Over the six months that I was working, I got to learn how to multitask between 2 burners, a wok, a salamander, and a flat top. I learned how to not burn myself cleaning a fryer with minimal space, I learned everyone and their friends and family ordered delivery while watching the series finale of Game of Thrones and so much more. I had my first health inspector visit that led to a panic-inducing cleaning session in the middle of a busy service. I learned the pain of a sizzle platter hitting your elbow. I learned how to lift 50 lbs+ crates of prep up and down NYC retail basements. I learned that the smell of frying dried shrimp lingers on you all the way home. I learned how to get home after sweating continuously for hours and through the drunk crowds on the Lower East Side on a Friday and Saturday nights. I learned that people take dining out and delivery for granted. I learned that you need a good team to sustain a restaurant.

I learned that mentors and leaders have patience. I learned that you can’t do everything by yourself.

A few days ago, I found out that Uncle Boons will be permanently closed due to the pandemic. You can still go to Uncle Boons Sister for delivery and take out or dine in at Thai Diner. The casualties from COVID-19 on the industry are so brutal and the losses will continue to pile up. I wish that landlords could allow more flexibility for their tenants or that government leadership (Trump) cared more and could aid small businesses. If you’re living in NYC please do everything you can to support your local restaurants that are struggling. The rest of the year isn’t looking any better heading into the fall with schools reopening, the pandemic not under control, and outdoor dining demand softens with the drop in temperature. Also, please vote this November to make sure Trump doesn’t ruin literally everything for another four years.

People You Meet at Culinary School

One thing that this pandemic has taught me about myself is that I’m terrible at keeping in touch with people. Often times, I take people for granted when they are nearby until someone leaves. At BU, I didn’t have that many close friends, and my social life was more limited to a few people who lived nearby on campus or who were in most of my classes. The same goes for people I worked with in DC and Boston. I tend to look back fondly at the people I liked, but never really took the opportunities to have fun or bond at the moment like I think I should have. The same can be said for the people I met at culinary school. I made some friends quickly, but for a variety of reasons, I still look back at myself as somewhat of an outsider, similar to my college and work experience. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m very self-conscience of myself or because I was an older student.

The people I met at the CIA were so different compared

to the people I spent my time back home, BU, and work.

It’s even more apparent when I started working in kitchens

in Tennessee, New York, and Providence. That’s a beautiful thing.

High School Graduates

My class had people from a variety of backgrounds beyond a bunch of fresh-faced high school graduates. The drop out rate is a lot higher than my previous college experience. Most students drop out because of financial reasons or quit. Typically, some of the younger students may already have some experience in the industry. Some might come from families that own a restaurant or bakery. Others were in a technical high school that had some sort of culinary or baking program in the curriculum. Some are part of industry organizations such as CCAP or participated in SkillsUSA and got scholarships. While their immaturity can show sometimes, these are some of the students in the best positions in the industry since they are starting so young and already know what they want. I’m still amazed that I was able to be friends with people who were born in 1999. You know, when Britney Spears, N’Sync and the Backstreet Boys were the biggest names in music and the top-grossing movie was Star Wars Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, cringe.

Medium Rare. I Want It That Way.

College Graduates

There were a couple of students here that had gotten bachelor’s degrees in unrelated fields, but for one reason or another, ended up attending the CIA to pursue their passion. Most of these students did well academically and in the kitchen and went on to win several awards at graduation. The previous academic backgrounds likely help them prepare for the CIA. I was almost one of these students if I had the financial means to attend after getting my bachelor’s degree.

Career Changers and Continuing Education

This was the group I ended up in after leaving a career in marketing. In this group, you’ll even find people in their 60s fulfilling their dreams of going to culinary school after they retired. Some others also worked in the industry and are finally getting their official degrees. Most of these students did well academically, but in the kitchen, the skill range varied greatly whether that was just being older or unfamiliar with the kitchen environment’s speed and pace. While I personally struggled at times to keep up, I also found instances where I could really push myself to complete double the daily tasks without a partner. I wouldn’t necessarily advocate for going at that speed all the time, but it’s nice to know you can do it if you push yourself. Validation is always nice.

Bad form, accurate expression if you're using a dull knife.

Former Military

A big part of the CIA’s history surrounded veterans returning home after World War II. The school was originally located in Connecticut and was meant as a way to help veterans learn new skills and return to the workforce. Eventually, the campus moved to Hyde Park, but there is still a large military presence. The GI Bill helped many students pay for their education after serving. A couple of my friends were in this group. One of them was our group leader, and he wasn’t afraid to use his presence to yell the slackers into submission. Think sleeve tattoos, standing over 6’3” and built like a Nordic god. This guy had some great stories that I could never fathom having happened to me. During my first year, we both ended up working at the same place on campus, had the same classes, and were both part of the Student Government. We ended up spending up to 16 hours a day with each other and it was honestly a blast despite the lack of sleep. Eventually, he went on to be a Sous Chef at the MET in NYC but is currently working at a company that builds and restore tech hardware, his other passion. One of my other friends was a corporate chef at Google. He was one of the goofiest guys I’ve ever met and was so outlandish at times you can’t help but love him. He was one of the guys that could make the most serious chefs crack up with his antics in the kitchen. He went on to become a manager in training (MIT) on campus at the cafeteria and is now back in this hometown as a private chef.

So when are you getting the chef sleeve?

International Students

During my start date, about 33% of the students were international students and 17 of the 25 international students were from South Korea. By the time I graduated, half of the students in my class were Korean. I was glad to have been friends with so many of them, and I’m looking forward to visiting them in Korea one day. One of my best friends was previously an engineer and eventually worked his way up to being a sous chef at a Michelin starred restaurant in NYC. A few others I’ve kept in touch with will be opening up their own places back in South Korea. When I was in college getting my undergrad degree, eating different cuisines in Boston for the first time is what helped me get into food. My friends were also Korean and introduced me to new dishes and flavors that I wasn’t familiar with. At the CIA, being around a diverse group of people made me feel at home and helped me become more outgoing. There is a lot to learn when you work with different types of people, and I got to experience that in different kitchens since graduating from the CIA. I think working in a diverse workplace is one of the most valuable experiences you can have and can help you become a more patient and understanding individual.