Quick Congee with Grilled Salmon
Posted in 30-minutes recipe, Chinese, Featured Articles, How to, porridge
A couple months back, a cooking method on how to whip up a super-fast congee (Chinese rice porridge, 快速煲靚粥) was widely circulated among the internet users, as well as being demonstrated on cooking shows in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The secret behind this method lies on the application of a little scientific know-how. Washed raw rice after being frozen will undergo a structural change. This freezing process will create many tiny holes and cracks inside the rice grains, which further enhance their capacity to absorb water. These rice grains, when putting into boiling water, will disintegrate fast and then release starch which turns into paste easily, and soon becomes congee. Amazingly, it only takes 10-15 minutes and a basic bowl of congee will be ready!
This new method has really opened my eye that cooking is somewhat like applied chemistry. Knowing that my food blogger friend Mike had tried and tested this method, I can’t wait any longer to try it out myself too and, here’s my verdict.
I just love this new discovery of mine. It’s indeed SUPERfast and easy to cook a bowl of congee. It also saves the trouble of blending the rice as I did in my previous superfast congee recipe. As the cooking time is rather short, the texture however will not be as silky as the typical Hong Kong-style congee. But, if you have the time, continue cooking for another 10 minutes or so. This will give you a much better texture.
For this method, choose white plain rice over brown rice. The latter is hard and requires a longer time to cook. I found this out after experimenting with brown rice.
I cooked this congee with some homemade fish stock and added in a handful of carrots and sweet corns to make it more nutritious and flavourful. Thereafter, I served it with grilled miso salmon.
Salmon bones have more fishy taste compared to other parts of a salmon, which makes them less appealing to some. But, I regard them as gems.
Since moving back to Kuala Lumpur, I have been sourcing my salmons mostly from the local wet market as they are fresher and cheaper. I’m lucky enough to know a generous fishmonger who supplies me with salmon bones, free-of-charge every time I visit his stall. My favourite way to cook them is by grilling. It’s simple and fuss-free. I use a mixture of miso, mirin and sugar as marinade which gives the salmon a beautiful coat of sweet and salty glaze. However, you may need to be extra careful when flaking meat from the bones. This is to avoid any potential hazard of swallowing tiny fish bones. If you find it too much hassle, salmon fillet works just as well too.
There are endless ways to enjoy this quick congee. If you need more ideas, please refer to the ideas in my quick congee recipe. From now onwards, I’m definitely going to store a box of frozen rice in my freezer. They surely come in handy on days when I need to cook up a bowl of congee quickly.
Get the recipe for Quick Congee and step-by-step tutorial at PAGE 2 BELOW
Get the recipe for Grilled Salmon and step-by-step tutorial at PAGE 3 BELOW.
Fast, quick & healthy! 🙂
Alice: Yes, do give it a try. 😉
Wow,I’ve learnt about how formation of ice crystals can damage plant tissues but didn’t think of applying this knowledge to shorten congee cooking time. This is definitely very useful cooking tip. I love it! 😀 Thank you for experimenting and sharing your experience with us! You are the gem 🙂
BTW, I was thinking whether soaking the rice would quicken the cooking process as the presence of more water in the grains will result in formation of more ice crystals and hence the grains will break up more during cooking. Perhaps you have tried it already and it makes no difference? 🙂
Ling: Sharing is fun. Although it’s recommended, I have skipped this step as mentioned in my recipe. If you watch the two videos, they didn’t soak the rice in advance. If you have tried it out, please share with me your feedback. 😉
Hi Lai Kuan,
I just cooked congee 2 days ago with frozen, pre-soaked rice. It turned out perfect! I liked the texture better than cooking it from scratch. I let it cooked for about 12 mins (after boiling) before starting to add minced pork, then stir for 1-2 mins, and then added fish cubes before serving.
Thanks for sharing again!
Ling: So glad it works for you too! Thank you so much for your feedback! 😉
Wow, I did not know that about frozen rice cooking faster. Thanks for sharing.
Tigerfish: This is new to me too. 😉
Awesome! I will give this a go!
Mycookinghut: Hope it works for you too! 🙂
congee is so comforting and soothing,can have this tasty treat everyday 🙂
Kumar’s Kitchen: Yes, it’s our favourite meal. 😉
The congee looks so appetizing and comforting!
Angie: Thank you! 😉
I havent been using chinese rice wine (Huadiao jiu) nor mirin in my cooking as my 2 year old is eating.. so is it ok to use mirin?
Julesy: Mirin is frequently used in Japanese cuisine. For example, a real teriyaki sauce comes from soy sauce, mirin and sugar. Alcohol (some or all) will be evaporated during cooking or baking. Another option is you can cook the mirin for one minute and let it cool down first before adding to the rest of the ingredients. If you are still not comfortable, then you can omit it. Add more sugar and a bit water to dilute the miso. If you want to learn more about mirin, this post maybe be of some help – http://justhungry.com/answering-questions-sakemirin-redux-bulk-buying-japanese-rice-and-storing-japanese-ingredients. 🙂
Hi, so freeze the rice without washing first? Then wash before cooking?
Agnes: Wash and rinse the uncooked rice, freeze it and cook it straight away. It has been mentioned in my recipe. Hope your doubt is cleared! Happy trying! 😉
Haa…must hv missed it! Thx for clarifying. 🙂
Agnes: Hope it works for you too! 😉