32
China’s comforting breakfast gruel goes glam
This Porridge IsTooHot
culinary arts
Like ramen
before it,
China’s humble rice porridge,
congee, is beginning to attract
notice in theU.S., as it offers an
immensely customizableAsian
take on comfort food.
Chef ToryMiller (pictured) of
Sujeo, inMadison,Wisconsin,
first encountered anMSG-
filledversion of the dish as a
teenager in Chicago’s Chinatown
and found it gamey and salty.
His challenge?Update congee
without sacrificing its simplic-
ity. “My first inspirationwas
risotto and theway cheese rinds
incorporate a rich umami flavor,”
he says. His East-meets-Midwest
versionbolsters KoreanRhee
Chun ricewith local Sarvecchio
parmesan cheese inplace of
theMSG, plus steamed chicken,
ginger, fish sauce–soaked Thai
chili, and lime.
At SanFrancisco’s SPQR,
MatthewAccarrino interprets
congeewithAmerican ingredients
throughan Italian lens, cracking
golden rice fromSouthCarolina’s
AnsonMills and cooking it intoa
creamy risottolikeporridgewith
veal sweetbreads, turnips, and
yuzumostarda. ChefBryantNgof
SantaMonica’sCassiadescribes
congeeas “Asia’schickensoup”
and topshiswitha saladof
smoked shredded chicken,minced
ginger, sweet onion,whitepepper,
andherbs.
InChicago, congeegets a sweet
twist as thedessert courseat
42Grams. Chef JakeBickelhaupt
fermentsbamboo rice, chosen
for itsvibrant green color and
floral flavor, then folds in chewy
dehydratedChineseyapear and
crunchypuffed rice.Miso caramel
anda scoopof butterscotchy
dulse seaweedgelato top it off.
“The congee is naturally sweet
from the fermentationprocess,”
Bickelhaupt explains. “It’smy
interpretation of salted caramel,
withAsian ingredients.”
—AMBERGIBSON
“I gatherwords that seemobscure (sciagura, spigliatezza: disaster, casualness) andones
I can easilyunderstandbutwould like to knowbetter (inviperito, stralunato: incensed,
out of one’swits). I gather beautiful words that haveno exact equivalents inEnglish
(formicolare, chiarore: tomove in a confused fashion, like ants, and also tohavepins and
needles; shaft of light). … I gather countless nouns and adverbs that Iwill never use.”
—From Jhumpa Lahiri’smemoir,
InOtherWords
, inwhich the Pulitzer Prize–winning
authorwrites (in Italian) about her efforts tomaster the Italian language
(FEB. 9).
chemistry
Paris’ Packagingof
PerfumeCosmetics
&DesignCongress
touts itself as the
world’s leadingexpo
for fine-mist spray
bulbs andbottle-stop
daubers.Oneexpert
whowill probablynot
beat this year’s event
(Feb. 3-4) isNicolas
Cloutier,whoseParis
perfumery,Nose, is
basedaround the idea
that scents shouldbe
chosenaccording to
science, not pretty
bottlesor fancynames.
Customersundergoa
30-minute “diagnosis,”
whichuses “perfume
recommendation
technology” and “a
very robust statistical
algorithm” to create
“olfactiveportraits.”
Ona recent
afternoon, aconsultant
namedLinextolled
Nose’s virtues: “We
match scents to
individualsbybreaking
downolfactory
elements.Smells
reveal abigpartof
ourpersonality.”
Just then, two
womenbustled in, past
sniffing stations and
swiping screens, and
headed for avialwith
a shimmery label.“Oh,
that is just beautiful!”
exclaimedoneof the
arrivals. “Get that
one!”
—BOYDFARROW
MakingScents
Sniffingout
the scienceof
smell inParis
Quick
Lit
NARAYANMAHON (MILLER, CONGEE)
