Teochew porridge

Teochew porridge is a Teochew rice porridge dish often accompanied with various small plates of side dishes. Teochew porridge is served as a banquet of meats, fish egg and vegetables eaten with plain rice porridge. It may be simply cooked without flavour, or include sweet potatoes. The rice grains while softened from cooking, are still whole and not in an overly starchy state. Because the porridge is plain and unflavoured, it is suitable to accompany salty side dishes. The recipe originated in Chaozhou and was later modified by early immigrants prepared in Malaysia and Singapore over the generations to suit local tastes.

In Singapore, Teochew-style porridge is usually consumed with a selection of Singaporean Chinese side dishes like nasi Padang. There is no fixed list of side dishes, but in Singapore, accompaniments typically include lor bak (braised pork), steamed fish, stir-fried water spinach (kangkong goreng), salted egg, fish cake, tofu, omelette, minced meat, braised tau kway, Hei Bee Hiang (fried shrimp chilli paste), and vegetables. Teochew porridge dishes emphasize simplicity and originality, and every dish is cooked with minimum seasoning to retain its original taste. Teochew is famous for steamed fish which is usually only seasoned with light sauce, spring onion, slices of ginger and a sprinkle of fresh chilli flakes, so that the freshness and sweetness of the seafood can be fully appreciated.

Teochew porridge is considered a comfort food for both breakfast as well as supper. Singapore Airlines has since 2016 introduced Teochew cuisine on board its flights, which includes Teochew porridge.