Directives :
1. In a medium bowl, rinse the rice with cool tap water, swishing with your fingers, until the water runs nearly clear. Cover with water and soak for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, prep your ingredients: Crumble the tempeh, then roughly chop until there are no chunks larger than 1⁄4″. Finely chop the garlic, ginger, and chilies. Thinly slice the scallions, reserving a handful for garnish.

3. Drain the rice. With a mortar and pestle (or the end of a rolling pin), gently smash the rice into uneven pieces, ranging from cornmeal-sized grains to larger pieces that are cracked or shattered in half.

4. Add the broken rice to a medium saucepan and cover with 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice has broken down into a thick porridge consistency, 25-35 minutes. (If the porridge is too thick, add more water. If it’s too thin, simmer for longer.)

5. Meanwhile, make the topper: Add the oil to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the tempeh, garlic, ginger, chilies, and scallions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the scallions have wilted and lots of deeply browned bits have developed on the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes.

6. Add the sake and simmer, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan, until the sake has reduced, the mixture is no longer simmering, and it has switched to sizzling in fat, about 2 minutes. Add the hoisin, soy, and sugar, and simmer, stirring constantly, until the flavors meld and the sauce has thickened, 3-4 minutes.

7. Divide the congee between 4 bowls, spoon over the tempeh topper, and garnish with reserved scallion