Call it desperation or a flash of inspiration, but the other day, with a real hankering for a filling breakfast that wasn’t eggs, I took out my steel cut oats and tried my darndest to turn them into jook.
I cooked the oats according to the instructions, boiling two cups of water and stirring in half a cup of McCann’s until smooth before bringing down the heat and cooking on low for half an hour. Except before turning it down to simmer I added a little splash of soy sauce, sesame oil and minced garlic. I sauteed mushrooms, chopped up some green onions, and threw them on top of the oatmeal when it was done, along with some ichimi togarashi and furikake. That was it.
Friends, it was fine. It was not going to taste bad–though oatmeal, and especially steel cut does have a particular flavor that might have interfered with the soy sauce and sesame oil. I might try something with less body like Quaker’s. It was not revelatory. And it was sure quicker than making a pot of jook.
But on my last few bites it hit me. What I really wanted was some Chinese porridge.