Ham bone + rice + water = Ham Congee, aka Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup. This is my favourite ham bone recipe – slow cooked until the rice breaks down, the meat is falling off the bone, and the broth is beautifully flavoured. Slow cooker, pressure cooker or stovetop – I use all 3 methods!
While the Western world goes bonkers over the vision of a glistening baked ham ready for carving, the Chinese are rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of the ham bone.
Because this recipe is not just something I made up – though I wouldn’t blame you for thinking so.
Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup is a “thing”. It’s called “Congee” in Chinese, and it’s the source of much discussion over who gets the ham bone from our own Christmas ham – or a pact to use it for a Family Meal – as well as smug announcements when one is able to secure extra leftover ham bones.
I secured two extra ham bones post Christmas 2017. *She says smugly, and proudly*
But in case you aren’t so lucky / as good at wheedling, and for all other times of the year, store bought ham hocks are ideal for this recipe. (It’s actually better because because it isn’t picked clean!)
SO – WHAT IS CONGEE?
It’s a white Chinese rice soup / porridge that’s made by slow cooking rice in broth until it breaks down and thickens the soup. It’s mostly rice and broth with just little bits of stuff in it – usually fish and chicken – so it’s highly economical.
The consistency varies from a soft, porridge-like consistency which has a lovely creamy mouth feel, to a more runny texture which is more like liquid broth with soft rice bits in it. In case you didn’t read between the lines, I’m not a fan of watery/runny Congee!
In China and Hong Kong, Congee is typically served for breakfast with big, puffy deep fried bread sticks for dunking, but I usually have it for dinner (no puffy fried bread sticks!).
The key to a great Congee is the broth, and hence why the Chinese go mad over leftover ham bones. It makes an incredible broth – no other flavourings needed.
BE WARNED: THIS IS CRAZY EASY!!
Place rice, lots of water, and ham bone in a pot, slow cooker or pressure cooker. Shred ham, return to pot, simmer a bit more.
That’s it. Yes, it really is that easy.
I exaggerate not when I say I think this is the ultimate 3 ingredient meal!
STOVE, SLOW COOKER, PRESSURE COOKER
This is a recipe that can be made on the stove, in the slow cooker or pressure cooker. It’s ideal for all 3, and I use all 3 methods. Pressure cooker means I can have it tonight, slow cooker if I’m out all day or if it’s a giant bone. And in winter on the stove, almost always.
As for garnishes, at the very least, I like to sprinkle with some chopped green onions. Something crunchy like Asian Fried Shallots (pictured) or even Chang’s crunchy fried noodles is terrific. Chinese Congee shops typically serve it with strips of crispy fried wonton skins.
So technically, I use more than 3 ingredients. Don’t crucify me! 😂 – Nagi x
MORE ASIAN SOUPS YOU’LL LOVE!
- Chinese Noodle Soup
- Wonton Soup
- Chinese Corn Soup
- LAKSA!
- Chinese Rice Soup (not a congee, it’s a soup)
- See all Asian Recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup (Congee)
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2 lb) ham bone / hock (Note 1)
- 1 1/4 cups long grain white rice , uncooked
- 9 cups (2.25 L or 2.25 QT) water
Garnishes / finishes:
- Salt & white pepper
- Finely sliced green onion
- Fried asian shallots / onions or something else crunchy , optional (Note 2)
- Sesame oil , optional
Instructions
- Place bone, rice and water in a large pot, slow cooker or pressure cooker. Cover with lid.
- Cook using preferred method (times below), or until meat on ham is tender enough to shred.
- Remove ham from soup, shred meat. Discard fatty / thick skin and sinew, keep bone. Use scissors if needed to chop meat.
- Stir rice well, then return meat AND bone into soup.
- Cook using preferred method, until rice is broken down and soup has a porridge like consistency – see video.
- Remove bone. Stir vigorously, then adjust consistency with water if desired. Or simmer uncovered if necessary to thicken. Adjust salt to taste (I usually just need a pinch), add a dash of pepper.
- Serve rice soup garnished with green onions, a sprinkle of Asian Fried Shallots and drizzle of sesame oil.
- Storage tip: Return bone into the soup, it continues to add flavour.
Cook times:
- Stove: Simmer on low for 1 3/4 – 2 hours (no stirring), shred meat, then on low for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then.
- Slow Cooker: Low for 8 hours, shred meat, then low for 1 – 2 hours.
- Pressure Cooker: High for 50 minutes, shred meat, then high for 15 minutes or 20 minutes on sauté function.
Recipe Notes:
– Ensure the bone is mostly submerged – if not, it may require turning during cooking because the part submerged in the broth cooks faster. Also, exposed ham = less flavour in rice, so you may need to cook a bit longer post returning shredded meat into rice to infuse more flavour into the broth. – This recipe yields a congee with a generous amount of ham per serving. Normal shop bought congee is mostly rice and soup with just a tiny bit of stuff (fish or chicken usually). I have a higher ratio of ham to rice to ensure you get good ham flavour in the broth. You could add another 1/4 cup of rice and 1 3/4 cups water, to stretch it out more, but I wouldn’t do more than that. – The broth gets infused with more flavour once the shredded meat and bone is returned to the soup for the 2nd phase of cooking. – Careful of over salting, the ham continues to leach salt into the broth when the soup is sitting around. 4. Make ahead – ham has a good shelf life, so I feel comfortable keeping it in the fridge for even 5 days. It will congeal but loosen up when reheated Add a touch of water to loosen. I haven’t tried freezing it. 5. Complete the meal by adding vegetables into the soup. eg. add stems of Chinese vegetables chopped into spoonable sizes and cook until tender (or cook separately and divide into bowls, top with soup), then stir the leafy bits in just before serving. You could do the same with spinach too. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings – about 2.5 cups per serving. Excludes toppings.
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
When he escaped my clutches….
PS Don’t worry, they’re doggie cupcakes and yes, I promise to do the recipe soon!
“Pork Jole Bacon” is the closest thing they had at my grocery store. Is that ok to substitute?
HI Natalie! Did a quick google, it looks like that is a hunk of good looking bacon, no bone 🙂 That will be too much meat for this amount of soup. I really do urge you to find something with a bone in it! I am not sure how much of that bacon you’d need to make this soup N x
I cooked this recipe last night in the slow cooker for 8 hours. I took the bone out and shredded the meat and put in the fridge. Turned off the cooker because I wanted to go to bed. Added the meat this morning and cooked for the extra 2 hours. OMG! It is so full of flavour. I have already had three bowls topped with fried and fresh shallots. It is my most favourite food of Asia. I have it for breakfast every morning when we are away but have never made it at home.
I have cooked a number of your recipes and have loved every single one of them. Never have I had a failure. Forget all those celeb cookbooks your run rings around them.
Thank You
Chris
This recipe is so yummy!!!!
I am thinking that is because this lovely lady, Nagi, tests her recipes at least three times, to ascertain if there are any tricky bits to the recipe! Yes, I have thrown out most of the recipe books I owned and now, I have a list of Nagi recipes. They have ingredients that are easily sourced, and no stupidly, difficult techniques! they just work!
Renee
P.S. Sorry Nagi, making your ego swell even bigger 🙂
Seriously, all my hats are getting TIGHT!!
YES YES YES!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this Chris! (And you’re making my head really big here….😂) N x
OMG i LOVE congee! But I have never made it myself before. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. I can’t wait for the holidays so I can secure my own ham bone LOL! The boyfriend’s family already thinks I’m crazy, so what’s a little ham bone theft?
BTW – the pictures of Dozer are so cute!
BA HA HA!!! You crack me up! You go girl – swipe that ham bone!!
Dozer you are lucky those doggy muffins look great..recipe please for the doggy muffins. .will make them for Luca’s birthday.
Winter will be here in Toronto in a few months ham no e conger is ideal..
Doggy muffins! I love that idea – then I don’t have to bother with icing!!!
Hi Nagi,
Would using stove-top pressure cooker be the same as electric pressure cooker which you use? Reason I ask is I’ve tried cooking congee on my stove-top pressure cooker but both times at about 40 mins, it “explodes” and the scum from the broth starts leaking out from valve. Have you had that happen before?
Hi Christine! I haven’t made this in a stove top one, thanks for the question I will clarify that in my recipe. I will ask around about stove top pressure cooker explosion problems to my Chinese blogger friends! 🙂
Huge smile following Ron: Well, my first meeting with congee was at the Shangri-La in Singapore way, way earlier than his and it became a tradition . . . . whenever we arrived there, once or twice a year, that was my evening meal and welcome: so much so, I would be asked on checking in ‘Mrs Carr, how soon would you like the soup?’!! Must buy a bone on my next on-line shop and make a panful . . . as for good-boy Dozer: your doggie cupcake recipe obviously is as successful as all your other cooking !
Ohhhh! I LOVE HEARING THAT!!!
Wow DOZER is having a feast ! Interesting meal. In EUROP THEY WOULD BE screaming at YOU for Wasting good Bone . We WOULD make very hearty soup Full OF vegis. MY friends KNOW ALL about. NOT long ago Aldi Had bones on special and someone bought me two. But THAN THEY LIKE to join in to Enjoy meal.this menu with bones is MUST IN WINTER. HAVE good week!
Ham bones are precious!!! Who would ever throw it out??!!!
Hi Nagi! This screams comfort food to me! And i agree, ham bones are gold! Our friend Ken gives us a big ham a couple of weeks before Christmas and I immediately dismantle it, leaving lots of meat on the bone and into the freezer it goes. I am a big fan of bean soup and Gary always wants split pea soup, but the next bone I get on hands on is going to be used for this. Ham hocks here are smoked and usually have very little meat on them, but they do impart great flavor just no bits. Dozer looks like he was exercising great restraint with those cupcakes although I’m sure you had to help him so he didn’t dive in face first 🙂
Ham hocks aren’t meaty over there??? Huh??? I thought that was the whole point!!?
Hi Nagi! Wow those ham hocks are expensive! I wait for the ham to go on sale, then I stock up on them. That soup looks like comfort food for the winter. So glad it’s still summer though…but it’s pouring rain now.
Dozer sure keeps you busy when he gets in trouble…like mine. 😂
I KNOW! It killed me to pay full price so I could take a photo of it 🙂 I usually only buy them when they’re on sale too!
Nagi, you may want to check on the star rating bc the last star doesn’t always go on. I hit 5 stars not 4. Arrrgh!
There after a few tries 5 stars. Determination!
Thanks for that J! I’ll have a check to see if it’s working properly 🙂
This looks great, I’m keen to try it!
I’m a fan of three ingredient meals, but
I think you could safely call ham bone congee a two ingredient meal!!
BA HA HA! I totally should have pushed it! 🙂 N x
As others have noted, there are lots of soups/stews that benefit from a ham bone. I would only add that cracking the bone in half, lengthwise, with a stout clever and hammer, releases even more pleasure during cooking.
That’s a terrific tip Fred! I have to try it 🙂 Does it discolour the soup at all??
I really don’t know the answer because I always split bones whenever I make anything. My stocks are never really clear, and I have always figured that was a good thing flavor-wise. As a sidelight, Dozer might like the idea as our two Lhasas show a great interest in the spot in the backyard where I might split a bunch of pork neck bones to make ramen stock. You don’t want to do the task inside the house. As an aside, I still use a great heavy iron cleaver I found on my first visit to Hong Kong in the ‘70s. The back is bent and flattened from all the hammering, but it still splits any bone easily.
Best
Dozer shows great interest anytime he hears a knife being taken off the knife rack…
Congee is my favorite soup !! I usually use chicken but ham bone/ham hocks are next on the menu. !! LOVE all of your recipes and love your dialog and instructions. Detailed but certainly not tedious or boring !!
Isn’t congee the best??? I can inhale so much in one sitting! Lucky it’s low cal!!
Made the ham congee yesterday and it was Awesome. I am amazed that something so simple can be so amazing. Made it in my Instant Pot.
That’s great Sarah! Thanks for letting me know! – N x ❤️
A good congee is one of my favorite choices for breakfast. I think I discovered it on a cruise ship back in 2007, and the one I get there is done with chicken and ginger. I top that with a saucy beef, fried tofu, and sometimes a bit of dried seaweed. I love the idea of this one with the fried shallots. Are the Asian fried shallots something you buy pre-made or do you do that yourself?
Oooh! I love the idea of a saucy beef one Susan! It would really fill it out 🙂 That’s the only thing with congee as a meal – I tend to need something on the side 🙂 N x
oops! didn’t read the recipe notes thoroughly. Scratch that question!
Gotta love ham bone soups! They are special! I usually use them for making pea soup or the somewhat famous U.S. Senate navy bean soup served in the Senate’s dining room for ages, and like others have mentioned, include diced onions and carrots, and sometimes diced celery too. I haven’t used ham hocks, only because cooked versions of those don’t tend to be offered in our local markets, but I’ve found that sautéed diced Polska kielbasa links, or diced regular Polska kielbasa sausage, can be a very tasty substitute for ham or a ham bone in a pinch. That congee looks delicious and I’m sure I could devour an entire pot of it by myself, but I’d need to make it with cauliflower “rice” for my husband–ham broth first, then a his and a hers pot of soup. He’d been on the verge of being taken off diabetes meds, but has been naughty recently, so must reform and repent, sadly! That means only low-carb options around here for him for the foreseeable future, or literally cooking for two, until his issue gets squared away–which is a complete bummer and drag, but he’s worth the extra efforts and the sacrifice of MY all-time favorite food group, Carbs.
Yuuum! I love ham and bean soup too! I have to look up the Senate Navy Bean Soup, I love the name and story!! N xx
There are different versions of it. I like the one with ham, onions, garlic and celery…but add diced carrots too. Also, like it with or without the mashed potatoes. One really old cookbook I had included the addition of bitters, too. Those were ok, but I haven’t kept using them. Had added some marjoram a few times also.
“jook” in Chinese. Gee what is congee? Vietnam friends, too- we go out for jook.
Love all your recipes, Nagi. Could you add crumpets to your reader recipe requests? No matter what recipe I use I just can’t cook them. I have had success with all your recipes, so I know I can rely on your recipe to work. Living overseas, we can’t buy crumpets and this was a big “Aussie” (yes I know they are British) comfort food for me. Thanks and I wish you had a cooking show I could drool over!!!
I kid you not, I tried it the other weekend! It didn’t really work out the way I hoped but it’s still on my list!!
I’ve never had congee, but I will be trying this super easy soup, very soon as I have a very meaty ham bone in my freezer right now. Yum! And my dog is anxiously waiting for the doggie cupcake recipe that Dozer is enjoying. They look good enough to serve to “doggie” company on special occasions. Thanks for all the inspiration.
I’m working on it! I want to fix the frosting. I had to use way too much peanut butter to make it hold up for those photos 🙂 N x
Would meringue powder help to stiffen the frosting? I’ve used it for regular cake frostings when I’ve wanted to decrease the confectioner’s sugar in overly sweet frostings. I don’t know what a doggie frosting consists of besides peanut butter, but wondered if meringue might work there.
INTERESTING!!! Thanks for the idea!!
Just one question, I live in the US and 1QT = 4-cups, not 9-cups, I am assuming that it was a typo so am using 4 cups. Will keep you posted on how it turns out.
Hi Alice! It is 2.25 quarts 🙂 That’s 9 cups of water!
My first encounter with congee was in China in 1997. It has been in my diet every since. Nothing better for a upset tummy than a bowl of congee.
From the looks of Dozer’s eyes, you must of been holding his ears to keep him from treats.
You’re speaking my language Ron! It’s what I always make when I have an upset stomach too. Chicken Noodle soup is way too much effort!!
This is almost my exact pea soup recipe–except with rice instead of peas. Nagi, you’re brilliant–for some reason it never occurred to me to use ham hocks instead of ham bones!
I’ve always stayed away from congee dishes when we go to Chinese restaurants, but I’ll try this at home first and see how it tastes!
Thanks!
You’ve definitely got to know where to go to get Congee! I find it hit and miss here in Sydney 🙂 N xx