Congee, a traditional rice porridge, is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods, and this Honeynut Squash Congee with Poached Fish somehow makes it that much more creamy and comforting. To make it a whole meal, we poach a chili oil-coated fish on top, making this both a simple dinner but also a stunner. This congee is fully pescatarian, rich in flavor but still follows traditional congee methods. The addition of the honeynut squash adds an extra element of cozy that is just so addicting. It’s the perfect fall recipe!
Table of contents
The ingredients you’ll need for this honeynut congee
This dish sounds difficult, but I promise it’s not! The ingredients are straightforward, and if you’ve ever made congee before, this recipe is a breeze. If not, that’s okay! It’s quite simple and only takes a bit of patience. Here are the ingredients for this honeynut congee:
- 1 small honeynut squash, halved and seeded
- 1 cup cooked short grain white rice
- 1/2 inch knob of ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 5 cups water
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 pound white fish of choice, portioned into three fillets
- 3 tablespoons chili crisp of choice
- Scallions thinly sliced, for garnish
How to make the congee
Congee is simple to make, especially if you’re using cooked rice. The goal of congee is to allow the rice to soak up as much liquid as possible so that it gets thick and creamy, somewhat similar to risotto or oatmeal. For this recipe, the congee is finished in a honeynut squash mixture that it slightly sweet, nutty and the perfect consistency.
To speed up the process, I recommend using pre-cooked rice (this is great for rice leftovers!) but if you are using uncooked rice, just double the simmering time, and you’ll be right along with us as we make the most comforting savory porridge of all time. Here’s how to make it:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the honeynut squash cut-side-down on a lined baking sheet and roast for 18-20 minutes or until soft throughout.
- While the squash is roasting, add the rice, ginger, garlic and four cups of water to a high-sided sauté pan. Season with a big pinch of salt. Bring this to a simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the porridge is opaque and thickened, stirring occasionally so no rice sticks to the bottom of the pan.
- When the honeynut is cool enough to handle, scoop the insides out, mash it up and whisk together with 1 1/2 cups of water. Pour this into the thickened congee mixture, and add the soy sauce and rice vinegar. Adding more to taste as needed.
- Let this simmer another 5-10 minutes to thicken further.
Adding the fish to the congee
Adding the fish is the simplest part of this whole recipe! I love poaching fish in a dish, it’s just so easy and comes out delicious every time. For this recipe, any white fish will work. I suggest using halibut or cod, but if you have a favorite, use that! I love it when recipes are flexible to different tastes. 🙂 Here’s how to prepare the fish and add it to the congee:
- In a medium bowl, add the fish fillets and the chili crisp. Mix to coat all the fish fully in the chili crisp.
- Place the fish fillets on top of the simmering congee, then cover and let simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked throughout.
- Remove from the heat and let the congee stand for 15 minutes. The fish will have thinned it out a bit, so this sitting time will allow it to rethicken.
- Garnish with scallions, scoop into bowls and serve!
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Watch the recipe here
The video may not fully represent the recipe. For best results, follow the instructions as written.
Honeynut Squash Congee with Poached Fish
Equipment
- 1 high-sided sauté pan with a tight fitting lid
Ingredients
- 1 small honeynut squash halved and seeded
- 1 cup cooked short grain white rice
- 1/2 inch knob of ginger thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 5 1/2 cups water
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 pound white fish of choice portioned into three fillets
- 3 tablespoons chili crisp of choice
- Scallions thinly sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the honeynut squash cut-side-down on a lined baking sheet and roast for 18-20 minutes or until soft throughout.
- While the squash is roasting, add the rice, ginger, garlic and four cups of water to a high-sided sauté pan. Season with a big pinch of salt. Bring this to a simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the porridge is opaque and thickened, stirring occasionally so no rice sticks to the bottom of the pan.
- When the honeynut is cool enough to handle, scoop the insides out, mash it up and whisk together with 1 1/2 cups of water. Pour this into the thickened congee mixture, and add the soy sauce and rice vinegar. Adding more to taste as needed.
- Let this simmer another 5-10 minutes to thicken further.
- In a medium bowl, add the fish fillets and the chili crisp. Mix to coat all the fish fully in the chili crisp.
- Place the fish fillets on top of the simmering congee, then cover and let simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the fish is cooked throughout.
- Remove from the heat and let the congee stand for 15 minutes. The fish will have thinned it out a bit, so this sitting time will allow it to rethicken.
- Garnish with scallions, scoop into bowls and serve!
Justine!!!! This looks unreal. I know cabbage mother, slop mommy, that you want me to do the recipe the correct way the first time. But, I can’t find honeynut squash ANYWHERE here!! Is there any ok substitute?
Hi! You can totally sub 1/2 of a small acorn squash, or 1 cup of butternut squash!
This looks delicious, but I typically don’t have cooked rice hanging around. How much uncooked rice would I add?
I’d say about a heaping 1/2 cup of rice will be perfect! It will take about 3x as long to cook down, so just know you’ll need a significant amount of simmering time!
Made this with cod and used unsalted broth instead of water. Exceeded all expectations – so cozy and satisfying.
Aw yay, I’m so glad you liked it!! Thank you for taking the time to leave such a nice comment <3
I’m excited to try this! Simple and flavorful. Maybe include a note to use tamari instead of soy sauce to make this dish gluten free, since it’s tagged as such.
Ahh this is a good note! Thank you, and will do!
This dish was amazing! I’ve recently moved to the coast so trying out new seafood recipes every time I make a big meal. I made this tonight for a few friends and we all LOVED it! I will definitely be making again, and will be on my fall rotation probably forever. Also in theme of your addicting recipes, my friend made your baked salad recipe to accompany – thanks Lizzie! Justine, let us know if you want to come to our next “dinner party” since it will most likely be this fish.
Omg this makes me so happy!! I’m straight up smiling so hard, and I’d LOVE to come to the next dinner party 😉 So glad you all enjoyed this one!