When people think of congee, some may think it's simple, plain, flavourless, or even boring. I mean, it's basically just rice and water, right? Well, not necessarily. Congee can be fun and most of all, it's the ultimate comfort food!
This pork & shrimp congee, or rice porridge, is packed with flavours and texture thanks to the juicy ground pork and shrimp and the savoury toppings. It's the perfect breakfast or rainy afternoon snack!
We believe there are two important elements in making a good congee: the liquid you use to cook the rice and the toppings.
Instead of using plain water, use some kind of broth, such as chicken or pork broth. The broth is what's gonna give your rice porridge that depth of flavour and transform it from plain to yummy! In our recipe, we use the juices and flavours from the ground pork as well as some additional chicken broth powder to cook the rice with. But you can definitely use some kind of other broth that you prefer.
And when it comes to congee toppings, more is more for us! This is where all the extra flavours and textures come from. The toppings we used in our recipe is our personal preference, but you can definitely use other popular toppings like 1000 year-old eggs, vinegar, or fried Chinese doughnuts!
We hope you enjoy this recipe and happy eating!
Ingredients
Congee (Rice Porridge)
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1/4 lb ground pork
- 8 medium shrimps
- 5 cups water
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken broth powder
Toppings
- fried shallots to taste
- soy sauce to taste
- sesame oil to taste
- 2 salted duck eggs cut into bite-sized pieces
- green onions to taste
Instructions
- Add the uncooked white rice into a strainer and wash the rice by running cold water through the strainer until the water runs clear. Drain off excess water and set aside.
- In a large pot, heat the canola oil on medium high heat and add in the ground pork. Stir-fry while separating the grand pork into small pieces and let cook for about 3 minutes. Add in the washed uncooked white rice and stir fry to combine well. Add in the water and cover. Let simmer on medium low heat for about 50 minutes while stirring occasinally to avoid the rice from sticking to the pot. After about 50 minutes, the texture should be thicker and the rice grains should be soft and almost blend together with the thickened soup. Remove from heat. Note: The congee will get thicker as you let it cool. If it gets too thick, you can add a little bit of warm water.
- Serve congee in a bowl and add toppings to taste.
Leave a Reply