This weekend I decided to flex my recipe development muscle in the direction of savory oatmeals. If you’re like me, you grew up eating oatmeal topped with brown sugar and raisins, maybe some milk. Oatmeal was always sweet, and it was always for breakfast. Not anymore!
Oatmeal is going through a sort of renaissance of sorts, launching it into a new stratosphere with savory options instead of the sweet stuff. The rough texture of the oats goes really well with big flavors such as chicken and seafood, and the heaviness of the grain can carry greens and other vegetables perfectly.
I modeled my oatmeals on congee, which is a rice porridge that has been eaten for centuries in Asian countries. Most congees contain a meat such as pork or chicken, eggs, and greens. It’s eaten as an everyday meal, but also is used to feed the unwell, because of its comforting texture, mild flavor, and digestibility.
For congee, rice is typically boiled for hours or even overnight, softening it into a porridge. I didn’t have the luxury or the motivation to boil something overnight, plus I would probably burn my house down if I did that. I also wanted to use steel cut oatmeal for the fiber and nutrition that it offers –not to mention the awesome texture. I just figured it out from there, pairing ingredients that sounded good together. The Critic was close by the entire time, ready to taste it all! He loved all three – and ended the day full of oatmeal as you can imagine.
All recipes serve 2.
Oatmeal with Bacon, Kale, and Poached Egg
4.5 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (low salt)
1 cup steel cut oats
1 handful (~3/4 cup) washed, chopped kale
2 pieces of bacon, raw, chopped
1 egg 1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger (microplaned)
Place the broth into a saucepan and add the oats. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins. Add the bacon and ginger and continue to cook for another 15 mins or until oats are soft. Remove from heat.
Add the kale and stir, letting the oatmeal sit for about 5 mins to cook the greens. Poach the egg.
Place the oats in 2 bowls, and top each with a poached egg.
Oh, yum. You’re welcome.
Oatmeal with Chicken, Corn, Green Onion, and Cilantro
4.5 cups of chicken or vegetable broth (low salt)
1 cup steel cut oats
1 cup corn kernels, frozen or fresh
1 chicken breast, raw, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup cilantro, washed and chopped
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 tsp freshly grated ginger (microplaned)
Place the chicken broth in a saucepan and add the oats. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer. As soon as you reduce the heat, add the chicken, ginger, onion, and corn.
Cook for around 25 mins, or until oats are soft. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, letting the oatmeal stand for around 5 minutes so the cilantro flavor is incorporated into the oatmeal but the leaves retain their green color.
Serve and enjoy! Yum yum yum.
Oatmeal with Roasted Seaweed and Bok Choy
4.5 cups vegetable broth
1 cup steel cut oats
1 baby bok choy, chopped into medium-sized pieces
2 small packages of roasted seaweed (10g)
1T fish sauce
1T soy sauce
Place the broth into a saucepan and add the oats. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the seaweed and bok choy, and continue to simmer the oatmeal until tender, around 10 more minutes.
Serve. Delish!! You can also add dried mushrooms to the oatmeal once you reduce the heat after boiling, or edamame at the very end.