I’ve felt the urge of eating a good congee (porridge) for a while now. Ever since the amazing fish congee I had at Low Yat Plaza a couple of weeks back, I figured I must attempt to make my own.
I don’t know what a cup refers to in recipes, so I’ve just used a mug. All I used was 1 large pot, 2 cups of long grain rice (I’ve bought my first 2kg bag of rice, in what must be over 3 years), and 9 cups of water. Set it to boil, and the moment it starts doing that, drop the heat to medium low. The lid is then popped back onto the pot, but tilted (or the nozzle opened) to allow steam to escape.
This goes on for about 45 minutes or so, till I decide its now time to chuck the ingredients in. 200g of prawns (peeled, tails removed - about $4 at Coles), a handful of scallops (a whole bag is about $10), about six crab sticks (can’t remember how much these cost, but there’s more in the container), and a fish fillet (estimated to be about $2.50) cut into bite sizes. Let this simmer again for another 15 minutes or so.
Voila! I now have congee. Of course, the amount I’ve made, I’ll probably be eating this for a few days to come (got about 1.5 containers filled with this in the fridge now). Condiments to add include fried anchovies (ikan bilis), something I’ve not been able to get the crispy texture right with, and also a bit of a scrambled egg (just break an egg into the pan, and scramble away). I vaguely recollect there being more pickled bits that Chinese restaurants serve, but I didn’t muster up the courage to visit the Asian Grocer today. Oh, sesame oil - add some once ready to serve.
References: about.com, gourmet traveller
Technorati Tags: cooking, recipe, congee, seafood congee, rice porridge
