On days when your wanderlust hits a little stronger or when you are feeling a little down over cancelled travel plans, perhaps a bowl of comforting and tasty zosui (Japanese-style congee) is the remedy to nourish your soul back to health. In Japanese, zosui roughly translates to mean assorted ingredients cooked together. It's generally made by adding broth and other ingredients to pre-cooked rice, but there are also tons of variations.
This traditional Japanese dish is not typically found in restaurant menus. It's more like comfort food that is homemade by your mother. Zosui is often served to those who are feeling unwell or who suffer from a lack of appetite. It can also be made from leftovers of other dishes. For example, during the cold winter months, the Japanese like to add rice into leftover hotpot liquid to make this delicious rice soup.
This practice dates back to the olden days when food was scarce and basic household appliances such as electric rice cookers were not available. Back then, it was difficult to keep cooked rice warm. So, a way to reuse cold rice was to combine it with dashi broth or miso soup. At the same time, this method of adding liquids to rice enabled the poor to stretch the meagre amount of rice they had and fill their tummies.
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