Since the history of rice cultivation in Asia stretches back to the Baiyue-inhabited lower Yangtze circa 10,000 BC,[4][5][6] congee is unlikely to have appeared before that date.

In northwest Shanxi and Inner Mongolia, fermented rice and millet porridge known as 酸粥 (Jin Chinese: [suɤ tʂɑo]) is popular.

[10][11][12][13][14][15] In Shanghai, Suzhou and nearby, an iconic glutinous rice porridge topped by red bean paste, sweet olive syrup and brown sugar is called 赤豆糊糖粥 (Wu Chinese: [tsʰaʔ dɤ ɦu dɑ̃ tsoʔ]).

[23][24] Common regional ingredients go into congee not mentioned above include salted duck eggs, rousong, zhacai, pickled tofu, mung beans and organ meats (especially pig liver).

[citation needed] Kayu (粥), or often okayu (お粥) is the name for the type of congee eaten in Japan,[25] which typically uses water to rice ratios of 5:1 or 7:1 and is cooked for about 30 minutes.

Toppings may be added to enhance flavour; Welsh onion, salmon, roe, ginger, and umeboshi (pickled plums) are among the most common.

Juk (죽; 粥; [tɕuk̚]) is a Korean category for porridges made by boiling rice or other grains or legumes, such as beans, sesame, nuts, and pumpkin, with much more water than bap.

Congee can be eaten plain or with a variety of side dishes and toppings such as soy sauce, added to enhance taste, as well as dried salted fish or fried breadsticks (ឆាខ្វៃ, cha kway).

After the congee is prepared a variety of toppings can be added to enhance the flavour such as bean sprouts, green onions, coriander, pepper, along with the dried fish and fried breadsticks on the side.

Some food vendors serve sate alongside it, made from quail egg or chicken intestine, liver, gizzard, or heart.

On the north coast of Bali, famously in a village called Bondalem, there is a local congee dish called mengguh, a popular local chicken and vegetable congee that is spicier than common bubur ayam and more similar to tinutuan, using a spice mix of onions, garlic, coriander seeds, pepper and chili.

Dried red safflower (kasubha) may also be used as a topping, mainly as a visual garnish and to impart a more appealing yellow tinge to the dish.

It is often served to the ill and the elderly, and is favored among Filipinos living in colder climates because it is warm, soft, and easy to digest.

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.

Plain congee, known as khao tom kui (Thai: ข้าวต้มกุ๊ย), is served at specialty restaurants, which serve a multitude of side dishes to go with it, such as yam kun chiang (a Thai salad made with sliced dried Chinese sausages), mu phalo (pork stewed in soy sauce and five-spice powder), and mu nam liap (minced pork fried with chopped Chinese olives).

[55] Khao tom kui is found in areas such as the Yaowarat and Wong Wian Yi Sip Song Karakadakhom (July 22 Circle) neighbourhoods.

[56][57] In a popular reference within the 2011 US comedy film The Hangover Part II set in Thailand, Jok is described as being a food for ″small babies and very old people″ with ″no taste″ that is nourishment ″everybody can digest″.

Alternately, as is especially common among Buddhist monks, nuns and lay persons, it can be a simple breakfast food eaten with pickled vegetables or fermented tofu (chao).

A specialty of the Hóc Môn District in Ho Chi Minh City, it is typically eaten in rural areas of southern Vietnam.

Well-known cháo bầu vendors include Cánh Đồng Hoang, Cô Ba Nữ, and Sáu Quẻn.

For such purposes, the cháo is sometimes cooked with roasted white rice, giving the porridge broth a more nuanced body and a subtle, nutty flavor.

In some parts of Vietnam, local customs call for making cháo as offerings for the "wandering souls" during the Buddhist Vu Lan summer feast.

The farming and manual labour community of the same region, on the other hand, consume on a daily basis in the late morning as a source of energy.

According to the Indian writer Madhur Jaffrey, kanji is, or derives from, a Tamil word for "boiling"—which refers to the porridge and also to any water in which rice has been cooked.

It stills hunger, dispels thirst, settles wind, cleans out the bladder, and promotes the digestion of the remnants of undigested food.

If salt is added to bring a much saltier taste, it is known as lunu kenda, a dish commonly used as a supplementary diet in purgation therapy in indigenous medical traditions.

Sugar, candy, dates, raisins, cashew nut, jaggery, and treacle are among the ingredients that may be added to sweeten these congees.

In Nepal, congee is known as jaulo, it can be prepared by mixing pulses like moong or red lentil, or plain with salt and lots of water.

[citation needed] Among the Indo-Caribbean Tamil Community, a dish called "Kandji" or "Kanchi" is made with rice, chickpeas, black eyed peas, onions, grated coconuts, and salt.

Strongly valued as comfort food, it is traditionally given to people recovering from disease, as in Asia, and in some regions of Portugal, there is even a custom of feeding the mother a strict diet of canja in the first weeks after childbirth.