Congee II: Squash

In the mornings street vendors stand with huge pots full of different kinds of congee. You grab a cup (that doubles as a hand warmer) equipped with a big straw for your morning commute, and it is the perfect thing on a cool day.

Nan gua is usually translated into English as 'pumpkin' but they are enormous, sweet, orange fleshed squash (they look most like big Hubbard squash to me) with a flavour very similar to butternut. Squash congee is one of the more common types and is often sweetened. I like it most for breakfast. This one has about eight times as much pumpkin as local nan gua congee, which is often watery rice with a few chunks of cooked nan gua.

To make, heat together 2 cups congee mix (see inaugural Congee post for mix method) , 1 cup cooked squash, and a few cubes rock sugar to sweeten if desired.