Cuckoo Mixed-Grain Rice Porridge (Black, White, Brown, Sweet Rice, Coix, Red Beans)

Name: Cuckoo Mixed-Grain Rice Porridge (Black, White, Brown, Sweet Rice, Coix, Red Beans)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 9 h 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 120 g white rice, rinsed well; 60 g brown rice, rinsed well; 40 g black rice, rinsed well; 30 g glutinous (sweet) rice, rinsed well; 40 g coix seeds (Job’s tears), rinsed well; 60 g dried red beans (adzuki), rinsed well; 1800 g water (about 7 1/2 cups), plus more to loosen when serving; 6 g kosher salt (about 1 tsp), optional; Sesame oil, a few drops per bowl; Sliced scallions; Brown sugar or honey, to taste (if you like it slightly sweet)

Judah Newman

This is a cozy, gently flavored mixed-grain rice porridge made right in your Cuckoo rice cooker. A blend of white rice, brown rice, black rice, sweet (glutinous) rice, chewy coix (Job’s tears), and creamy red beans cooks into a thick, nourishing bowl with subtle nuttiness and natural sweetness. It’s ideal for breakfast or a light dinner, and it reheats beautifully for a few days.

porridge
mixed-grain
breakfast
rice-cooker

9 hr 40 min total · 10 min prep · 1 hr 30 min cook · 8 hr rest

Serves 4

290 kcal · 10g protein · 63g carbs · 1g fat total

Cuckoo rice cooker

Ingredients

Instructions

Prep (recommended for best texture)

Rinse the red beans and coix seeds until the water runs mostly clear. Cover each with plenty of water and soak 6–12 hours (overnight is easiest), then drain. They should look slightly swollen and feel less “rock hard” between your fingers.

Rinse all the rices together in a bowl, changing the water 3–5 times, until the water looks only lightly cloudy. Drain well.

Cook in the Cuckoo

Add the drained soaked red beans and coix seeds to the inner pot, then add the rinsed rices.

Add 1800 g water. Stir once to distribute so the denser grains aren’t all sitting on the bottom.

Select your porridge/congee setting (often labeled “Porridge,” “Juk,” or “Multi-grain porridge”). If your model lets you choose thickness, pick “thick/normal.” Start cooking.

When it finishes, open the lid and stir thoroughly, scraping the bottom once or twice to break up any settled grains. The porridge should look glossy and cohesive, with the grains suspended rather than sitting in a watery layer.

Taste. If using salt, stir in 6 g kosher salt now (salted earlier can slow softening in some beans). If you want it looser, stir in 60–120 g hot water and re-taste.

Serve

Let the porridge sit 5 minutes with the lid cracked; it will thicken slightly.

Serve hot. For savory bowls, add a few drops of sesame oil and scallions. For a sweeter bowl, add a little brown sugar or honey.

Tip: If your cooker doesn’t have a porridge mode, use a “multi-cook”/“soup” mode and cook until the beans easily crush between two fingers and the porridge is creamy, then extend 10–20 minutes if you want it silkier.

Notes

Soaking is the big unlock here: coix seeds and red beans soften much more evenly and won’t stay hard while the rice overcooks. If you forgot to soak, you can still cook it, but expect to extend the cycle (or run a second porridge cycle) and add 240–360 g extra water as it thickens.

Storage: Cool quickly, then refrigerate up to 4 days. It will set up thick; reheat with a splash of water until creamy again.

If you want a clearer, more “clean” porridge texture, stir well at the end and let it sit 10 minutes; the grains hydrate and the soup base smooths out.