Congee is Chinese rice porridge, which can be served plain, sweet, or savoury. It is actually pretty bland in flavour. When additional ingredients such as meat, fish, and flavourings are added while preparing the congee, which is most often served as a meal on its own, especially for persons who are ill. To me, it is the ultimate Chinese comfort food, that my grandma and mom cook for us. Their recipes have fish brain, intestines’, Chinese donut stick pieces, minced pork, bean sprouts, and at times fried tofu.
“Cauliflower as a highly modified form of cabbage in the mustard family, grown for its edible masses of partially developed flower structures and fleshy stalks. It is high in vitamins C and K, and is often served as a cooked vegetable or used raw in salads and relishes.”
I use tartufata sauce on my cauliflower instead of pizza or pasta base, as well as for meat and fish dishes. I’m going to try using steam mode. The flavour is intense and tastes mainly of black truffles, a unique Italian cooking ingredient. The steam mode cooks my cauliflower to perfection with a crispy outside and moist, tender inside.
I have leftovers air fryer steamed-roasted cauliflower, rocket, and spinach; decided to add to my fish and minced pork congee. My West and East combine meal is colourful, and delicious. Let’s cook!!!
Ingredients
Fish and minced pork congee
2-3 c cooked rice
1 ” fresh ginger
1 1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1/2 Tbs oyster sauce
1/2 Tbs soy sauce
6-10 prawn heads, fry with 1 Tbs oil and 1 Tsp minced garlic, once turned red, smashed and cook with 4 c water, salt and pepper to make stock
2 drumsticks plus 4 c water; 1 ” ginger, salt, black peppercorns and 4 garlic cloves to make stock
200-250 g minced pork
200 g white tail snapper, fillets
2 Tsp olive oil
1/2 Tsp minced fresh ginger
1/2 Tsp minced garlic
1 Tsp Shaoxing wine
1 Tsp soy sauce
1/4 Tsp salt, and extra
1 Tsp pepper and extra
water, if necessary
Air fryer steamed-roasted whole cauliflower
1 whole small cauliflower
2-4 Tsp Giuliano Tartufi truffle sauce
chili flakes
salt
black pepper
oil
hot water
Garnish
rocket, and spinach leaves
fried shallots
chili sauce
soy sauce
Method
In the rice cooker, add cooked rice, two stocks (2 c each stock first), fresh ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce to pot and turn on rice cooker. Uncovered and stir occasionally for 45 minutes; to make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom or until congee is smooth and no longer grainy and broken. Add more prawns or chicken stock and water if necessary.
In a bowl, combine minced pork, ginger, garlic, Shaoxing wine, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and oil. Mix well and set aside in the refrigerator. When congee is nearly done; has the right consistency: creamy. Add minced pork to congee, breaking down minced pork, and simmer until minced pork is cooked, for about 10 minutes.
When congee is done, change setting to ‘keep warm’. Add fish fillets to rice cooker. Stir and cover for 5 minutes or until it is cooked through. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Air fryer steamed-roasted whole cauliflower
In the last 20 minutes of cooking congee start preparing cauliflower. Remove the outer green leaves from the cauliflower and trim the stem slightly to enable it to stand upright. Submerge the entire cauliflower head in a basin of water and gently wriggle it to wash off dirt and maintain moisture.
Bring out the air fryer cup and place a small metal pie dish inside. Then place the metal hole rack on top of the pie dish. Pour hot water into the metal pie dish about 1/4 inch. Carefully put the air fryer cup back into the machine and set it to steam mode at 160°C. Heat the air fryer for about 3 minutes.
Line a small baking tray with double-lined foil, place the cauliflower on it, and lightly spray oil all over. Spread 2-4 tsp of Giuliano Tartufi truffle sauce over the cauliflower, then sprinkle salt, black pepper, and chili flakes on top. Allow it to sit for a while.
Be careful when removing the cup to check for water in the pie dish. Then place the baking tray with cauliflower into the cup, ensuring you can still see the pie dish in case you need to refill with hot water. Sprinkle some hot water using a pastry brush on top of cauliflower, and gently put the cup back into the machine. Steam-roast for 4 minutes first, then remove the cup to check for water in the pie dish again.
Again, sprinkle hot water on top of the cauliflower and gently place the cup back to steam-roast for another 6 minutes. After that, check the tenderness of the cauliflower by pricking it with a knife. If it’s not tender and cooked, steam for an additional 2 minutes to ensure it’s fully done.
When it’s done cooking, carefully remove the baking tray with the cauliflower using a metal food clipper. Take out the metal rack and pie dish. Be cautious as they will be hot. Let the cauliflower rest, covered with tented foil, for 5 minutes before cutting into florets and plating up.
Assemble
Spoon some or enough congee onto bowl. Place 4 florets cauliflower in the centre on top of congee. Then scatter rocket and spinach leaves around the edge of congee. Drizzle soy sauce around the edge of congee and squeeze 5 dollops of chili sauce around the congee. Now scatter fried shallots around and on top. Serve immediately. Enjoy with a cup of Chinese tea!!!
Note: Grandma congee ingredients have salted duck eggs, century eggs, preserved olive leaves, spring onions, black mushroom, dried shrimps, Chinese pickled vegetables, fish, fried oysters and scallops, fresh ginger sticks, fried shallots and poached chicken. Congee is served as breakfast, lunch and dinner in Malaysia. But even when I don’t feel sick, I still find it as satisfying meal. Well, my first time cooking congee with my mom helping me on the method. She cooks in a rice cooker.
You can use any ingredients of your choice. Or you can add the ingredients like my grandma and mom does as mention above. You might want it more liquid, so add more stock or water. You can omit chili sauce. You can put fried shallots, Chinese doughnut, or fried tofu. Or create your own flavour ingredients. You can use vegetables, or box ready stock or cube packet stocks.
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