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: mushroom slices, curly parsley, and preserved olive leaves, something homegrown: spring onion and must have chili sauce to create a colourful, healthy, spicy 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
Garnish
sliced mushrooms
preserved olive leaves
spring onions
curly parsley
chili 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.
To assemble
Spoon fish and minced pork congee into a bowl. Garnish by placing 3 sliced mushrooms in the center, followed by a dollop of preserved olive leaves in the middle, and place a curly parsley on top of the preserved olive leaves. Next, line sliced mushrooms around the congee at the top. Then, add 4 dollops of preserved olive leaves around the sliced mushrooms, also 4 curly parsley, and 4 must have dollops of chili sauce. Now, line 7 spring onions in a circle around all the garnish. Lastly, add more chili sauce; drizzle an X line on top in the center. Enjoy the colourful congee with a cup of tea!!!
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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