Easy Chinese Dried Scallop Porridge Congee With Fish Paste Food

SEAFOOD CONGEE

Steps:

• Rinse dried scallop. Place in a small bowl and tap water to cover. Let rehydrate for 2 to 3 hours.
• Rinse rice a few times and transfer to a large pot. Add 2 liters (8 cups) water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir a few times. Turn to medium low or medium heat. Cover the pot halfway to keep the water boiling without spilling. Cook for 30 minutes. Stir the congee a few times during cooking.
• Cut the shrimp down the center of the back into two thin pieces.
• Combine shrimp, Shaoxing wine, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
• Drain dried scallop. Tear into smaller pieces by hand. Set aside.
• When the congee has been cooking for 30 minutes and starts to thicken, add dried scallop. Keep cooking with the pot half covered, until the congee achieves the desired thickness, 15 to 20 minutes. Be careful, the congee will get quite thick and sticky towards the end. Stand close to the pot and stir frequently. It will easily spill if covered too much or if the heat is too high. The rice will stick to the bottom if you don't stir enough.
• When the congee is cooked, add shrimp and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon ginger. Stir a few times. Stop heat immediately. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt or salt to taste. Stir well. Drizzle with sesame oil and scatter with green onion.
• Serve warm.

20 MINUTE FISH CONGEE

Steps:

• Wash the rice 1-2 times, mixing it in the water with your hands before discarding the starchy water. Submerge and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
• Drain and transfer to a resealable bag or other freezer-safe container. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
• In a medium bowl, marinate the fish with salt, white pepper, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and ginger. Use your hands to toss the fish to coat. Add the egg white, and gently mix until the marinade feels slippery and each fish chunk is well-coated.
• Cover the bowl with an overturned plate and transfer to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to marinate while you start the congee.
• In a large pot, bring 8-9 cups of stock and the frozen rice to a boil (no need to defrost the rice). Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar to avoid the congee boiling over, and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Do not stir.
• While the congee cooks, wash and finely chop the romaine lettuce and very thinly julienne the ginger. Don't prepare the ginger ahead of time, as you want the flavor of freshly cut ginger.
• After 10 minutes, increase the heat to medium high, and stir the congee continuously for a couple of minutes to thicken. Stir in the lettuce, and bring to a boil to wilt the lettuce.
• Finally, add the fish pieces, gently stirring to distribute them. (If you don't like the taste of raw ginger in your congee, you can add the ginger at this point, along with the fish fillets.) Bring to a boil, and add additional salt and white pepper to taste. Serve topped with scallions, cilantro, and ginger if desired.

EASY CHINESE DRIED SCALLOP PORRIDGE (CONGEE) WITH FISH PASTE

Steps:

• Put the short grain and long grain rice in a medium-sized pan and rinse with several changes of water. Drain off most of the water, then add 1.5 litres of fresh water. Briefly rinse the dried scallops then add them to the pan. Cut the ginger into two pieces. Put the ginger and the spring onions into the pan. Bring the water to the boil then lower the heat, cover partially with the lid and simmer for about 90 minutes, stirring frequently.
• While the congee is cooking, season the fish paste. Finely mince the spring onions, and roughly chop the fresh coriander, then mix them into the fish paste.
• When the congee has cooked for 90 minutes, test the consistency, and adjust it by adding more water, or by letting it simmer longer with the lid off the pot, stirring often. When it's the correct consistency, season to taste with salt. Remove the ginger and spring onions from the congee, but leave in the dried scallops (which should be in fine shreds at this point).
• Scoop heaped teaspoonfuls of the fish paste mixture into the congee and let them poach over a low flame for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice the lettuce leaves into 1cm-wide strips, add them to the congee then stir until they're wilted.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Heat the yau ja gwai for about five minutes, then slice them about 5mm (¼in) thick. Ladle the congee into bowls then let each diner top their portion with chopped spring onion, coriander leaves, julienned ginger, white pepper and the yau ja gwai.

DRIED OYSTER AND SCALLOP CONGEE

Steps:

• Soaked dried oysters and scallops in cold water separately for at least 2 hours to soften them. Retain the soaking liquid. Shred the scallops, and cut oysters into small pieces.
• Peel carrot and dice into 0.5cm cubes.
• Wash and rinse the rice several times. Place rice in a pot, add water and seafood liquid (used to soak the dried seafood), and bring to a boil.
• Add oysters, carrots and 1 tsp oil.
• Let the congee boil, then lower heat to let it bubble for 20 minutes.
• Add the shredded scallops, and let congee simmer for 20-30 minutes. Do stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking the bottom of the pot.
• Turn heat off, and serve garnished with spring onion.