Dress up your warrior’s breakfast with this Mulan porridge recipe that’s as delicious as it is fun! Nothing will make your kids smile bigger than a warm bowl of porridge on a cold morning, especially if it’s smiling back at them! Get Mushu’s rice porridge recipe and make your kids’ morning more fun!

Even the most devoted Mulan fans may not know, but Mulan’s porridge was actually a breakfast congee recipe. It’s a traditional Chinese meal that can be made in the slow cooker, or instant pot. We’re making it on the stove today, but there are many ways you can quickly and easily make this dish for your family.

But first let’s talk about what exactly congee is…

What is Congee?

Cooking congee or Asian rice porridge is an easy way to make a hearty, healthy meal. It’s also the ultimate comfort food- warm, creamy, and gentle on the stomach. This dish can be served with many congee toppings, eggs, bacon, green onions, or ginger.

Sweet congee is popular, as are chicken congee and fish congee. It make the dish a bit more of a healthy congee recipe, you can also substitute white rice for brown rice.

What is Porridge?

Long-cooking oatmeal you eat for breakfast? No, it’s not! Porridge is a dish that varies from culture to culture, but it means basically the same thing: a thick soup or gruel made by boiling oats.

While there is no one ingredient for this traditional dish, most recipes use an “oat” grain such as rice, wheat, corn, buckwheat or oats. The dish can be served sweet (with honey) or savory!

Many people think of porridge as being cold because it’s often eaten for breakfast in the UK. 

You are probably wondering why there are so many different names for what appears to be the same thing- porridge, congee, rice gruel. There are different explanations for both the differences and similarities between them. Let’s look at a comparison of congee and porridge for some clarity, shall we?

Congee vs. Porridge

To understand why some people think that they are essentially the same thing you have to go back in time before these recipes were developed. Rice porridge is believed to have first appeared around 1000 BC in the Zhou Dynasty. In the beginning it was a dish for the higher class, while many other dishes were eaten by peasants.

Rice congee gained popularity in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It then spread to Asian countries because of increased trade with Western countries. The Chinese immigrants that moved to America brought their food traditions with them, which is why you see congee and rice porridge turn up in so many different cultures.

Today you can find variations of both across the world for example:

Congee- Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka, Burma), China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam

Rice Porridge- Scotland, England, United States of America, Middle East

How to Cook Asian Porridge

Since we’ve determined that Mulan & Mushu prefer congee, that’s what we’ll be making today!

Porridge is cooked by boiling the rice in water until it breaks down into a creamy consistency. This dish takes some time to cook but can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

As with most porridge recipes, the exact ratio of water to rice is not super important. You can start with 1 cup of rice and 11 cups of water or 5 cups of rice and 25 cups of water. The congee might be a little thicker or thinner depending on how much water you use in your recipe and your family’s preferences.

Mulan Porridge

As far as what goes into our Mulan porridge, all of the ingredients are easily found at any grocery store, no Asian market needed. Just grab rice, chopped ginger, large eggs, and bacon for your Asian white rice dish that’s perfect for anyone ready to save the nation. (Cricket optional, of course!)

I hope you enjoyed this quick little lesson on congee and Mulan’s favorite breakfast. Whip up a batch of Mulan porridge for breakfast this week and watch the smiles appear!

More Mulan Fun:

Mulan Coloring Pages

Disney’s Mulan Live Action Movie & Activity Sheets