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In Korea, 죽 is generally served to the person with stomach trouble and seldom considered as a regular dish/food, as I know of.

Other than the slang ‘식은죽먹기’ to express the easiness, I really didn’t have much idea with such bland food

until I encountered the Kyoto cuisine/경식 for the breakfast in early ‘90. Indeed, by my surprise, traditional Kyoto/Imperial cuisine,

경식, served a 'white porridge'/흰죽 for the breakfast instead of steamed rice on the first day in Kyoto but soon learned

that they eat this 흰죽 with a few simple side dishes, mostly of pickled vegetable.

 

Indeed, through the first visit to Kyoto Univ team to get the first-hand experiences on the living related split liver transplant

in 1995 – Kyoto team took the idea from the Chicago group and accomplished world-leading clinical implementation

(in Korea, Asan Hospital group led by Lee SeungKyu, started first to have accumulated the second world largest experiences

after the Kyoto group already when I came to Seoul to set up the program for Samsung Hospital in 1994) - for two weeks,

I started to learn how to enjoy the unique role of 'white porridge'/흰죽 to enhance other food/dishes better than heavy sticky rice-

and whenever I went back to Kyoto, I refused to eat Western breakfast but only the 흰죽.

 

Soon later, by serendipity, I also learned Chongqing/Szechuan cuisine is famous with 'white porridge (白粥) / 'báizhōu for the breakfast

with such famous Zhacai (짲쪼이), pickled mustard plant stem, you all familiar with. Finally, I figured out this 白粥 is a staple dish

throughout China but called with many different names.

 

Interestingly, down in South China like Guangzhou and HongKong I visited, I learned they call it ‘congee’( 콘지) - someone told me

it is a Hong Kong dialect and correct term on Cantonese is still ‘jook’! – while in the North, they called it zhōu/jūk (쭈 or 죽) like us.

Here in the U.S., Chinese restaurants post 죽 as ‘congee’ as a part of dim sum as I understand correct.

 

However, I got a further surprise to learn something I never expected!  While I was making regular visit to Chennai as well

as Vellore in India, I was so shocked to figure out such plain rice porridge, 죽 is also called to ‘Kanji’ similar sound to ‘Congee’

throughout Tamil Nadu, South India. They said kanji/콘지is a Tamil word for "boilings", which refers to the porridge.

And you still can see the street vendors selling this porridge made from millet in Tamil Nadu.

 

So, many claim the word ‘congee’ came from the Tamil word, ‘kanji’, which has been known as a prominent food for Tamil people

of Ancient India, and its English form/pronunciation may have arrived to China via Portuguese traders to call 'congee'.

 

Indeed, Alumni House of CMC (Christian Medical College) of Vellore where I stay while making regular visits to help my protégé,

Edwin Stephen serves millet-based kanji with a variety of curries/spices as a part of breakfast so that I enjoyed them so much,

always taking a double portion.  Besides, when I visited Kerala, Southwestern India, I learned they also serve exactly the same 죽

as the main course particularly for dinner by the majority, referring to Tamil food.

 

So I reckon Chinese ‘congees’ are NOT a genuine Chinese word but originated from India after all!

And I presume Korean죽(Juk) is also NOT a genuine Korean word but originated from Northern China as well. In Japan,

I believe they call 'okayu' if I remember correct although they write it as ‘粥’ as we do.

 

Anyhow, ‘congee’ is a national dish presented in different conditions in different regions of China and white congee matches

with almost everything like green vegetables, seafood, chicken or mushrooms, etc to enhance the taste so well.

But I love ‘Cantonese congee’ most with a garden variety of  Zhacai (짲쪼이: JA Choy, or cha Tsoi), best known

as pickled Szechwan vegetables - I heard almost all the boats on Yangtze River moving downward from Chongqing carry

only these 짲쪼이/JA Choy to deliver to Shanghai-.  

 

Try it, you will like it!  

 

BB Lee

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