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.
I remembered grandma congee ingredients also 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.
My congee has prawn heads and chicken stock, fish fillets and minced pork, garnished with something bought: black sesame seeds and preserved olive leaves, something new: roast chicken, and something leftover: spinach soup to create a colourful, healthy, spicy and delicious. Don’t waste food, transformed it to be a new creation meal. Let’s cook!!!
Ingredients
Roast chicken
1 whole chicken size 16, about 3 lb; big enough for stuffing
Marinade
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbs honey
1 1/4 Tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 Tsp Shao Xing wine
1/2 Tsp brandy (opt)
1/2 Tsp salt
6 dashes black pepper
Skin Coating
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 Tsp melted butter
1 Tsp honey (opt)
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
Spinach soup
3 bunches spinach, stems removed, washed and drained
2 Tbs dried anchovies
1 Tbs dried prawns
2 Tsp minced garlic
1 L water
2 Tsp sesame oil (OPT)
salt
pepper
oil
Garnish
black sesame seeds
preserved olive leaves
roasted chicken pieces
spinach soup
chili sauce
Method
Roast chicken-One day in advance
Clean the chicken with water and pat dry inside and out. Mix marinade ingredients well in a bowl and rub it generously on the skin of the chicken and also the cavity. Then transfer it into a deep tray. Pour the remaining marinade into tray to marinate the chicken overnight.
Spinach soup
In a pot heat 1 Tbs oil on medium heat. Add garlic stir until lightly brown. Add anchovies and dried prawns stir for about 1-2 minutes. Lower heat, add water bring to boil. Next add spinach, and sesame oil; mix around to cook it about 7 minutes until wiltered. Add seasoning.
Note: You can 3-4 eggs in. Beat the eggs lightly and pour in to soup. Stir constantly to get the egg looks like scramble but in small curl pieces. Add seasoning. Once eggs done. Turn off heat. Spoon onto bowls and serve with a bowl of rice. Also, you can add into your congee for extra liquid and flavour, greeny congee.
Next day
Roast chicken
Take the chicken out of fridge. Air dry chicken on bench top about 20 minutes at room temperature or until the skin surface is no longer wet. (I did it on a hot day – summer time). You can turn on a fan if in cool day – Winter. Meanwhile mix skin coating ingredients well in a bowl. Set aside.
Heat up the oven to 200 degrees C. Roast for about 40 minutes first on one side. Remove from oven and turn the other side and roast for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken from oven after 1 hour, and brush chicken with skin coating mixture. Continue to roast chicken for about 10 minutes on each side, or until both sides of is golden brown. Switch off oven, close door, and leave chicken in oven until needed.
Cook the congee
Meantime, 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. Bring out the roasted chicken, cut into pieces and plate up.
Spinach soup
Warm up spinach soup in the pot or spoon the amount into bowl and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
To assemble
Spoon fish and minced pork congee onto bowl. Garnish place roasted chicken pieces on top of congee in the middle. Followed by 4 dollops preserved olive leaves around the roasted chicken pieces. Then spinach on the outer circle and around with dollops of chili sauce Then gently pour the heated the spinach soup all around the congee. Enjoy your colourful, healthy and delicious meal with a glass of white wine!!!
Note: 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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