Friday, June 17, 2011

Rice Porridge/ Congee

I grew up with rice porridge, also known as congee or we Hokkien call ‘Ber'. My grandmother and mother will make this for our weekday’s lunch nearly every day. Our porridge is just the plain ones totally unseasoned where we will eat it with salted eggs, fried ikan bilis, some pickle vegetables, omelet or sometimes with some fried fish. I actually prefer eating porridge served at dim sum place when the rice grains are cooked down, thick consistency and full of flavor .

Carlos was having tooth ache a few weeks ago so I thought I prepared this type of porridge for him with the leftover chicken stock from my Poached Chicken but guess what, he refused to touch it. I can’t blame him as he never eat this before. I end up having it all by myself which I don’t mind at all.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup long grain rice
1/4 cup glutinous rice
2 pieces chicken breast – removed skin and fats
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

Shredded chicken
Julienned ginger
Chopped spring onions
Fried garlic
Some sesame oil
Some soy sauce

1. Wash the rice and put it in a medium size pot. Add in the stock and water and bring it up to a boil. Add in the chicken breast and turn down the heat to medium. Cover (with the cover ajar) and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken and set it aside to cool
2. Continue to simmer the rice (stirring occasionally) until it turns soft and mushy. Add in salt and pepper. Add more water if needed.
3. Shred the chicken and top it on the porridge together with ginger, spring onions, fried garlic and drizzle in some sesame oil and soy sauce. Serve warm.

15 comments:

Shereen said...

I love porridge and wouldn't mind having it everyday...and I too prefer the ones at the dim sum shop...best!
Psst...don't you think the hokkien word 'ber' sounds so rough?...hahaha...I hate that word!!

ijayuji said...

Hi gert! sama mcm sheeren i suke porridge, chinese mmg pandai buat porridge, ur recipe guna beras pulut juga ya? tk pernah jumpa lg recipe mcm ni nanti nak cuba juga :-)

ICook4Fun said...

Shereen, 'ber' sound rough meh? I too like to eat porridge but since the weather is warm, I hardly make this.

Ijayuji, adding beras pulut will give the porridge a thicker consistency. Cuba lah and you are going to like it.

Jenn said...

I love congee! I get a craving for it every once in a while and eat a whole pot by myself. I love it with meat floss and Chinese pickled cucumbers. I will also make it with extra ginger when my husband or I am sick. Comfort food!

Anonymous said...

Hi Gert!

I love porridge too, but cook them once in awhile coz my the other half doesn't like congee. Only eat them when he is sick. Love them all especially the "Teochew Style"

Yen

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

Oh yes...we had a lot of "moi" growing up. We call it "moi" instead of "ber" :) I also like "chuk" and this "kai chuk" is one of my favorites. In fact, I just made turkey chuk for my boys two days ago :)

Cheah said...

'Kai chuk' is one of my children's favourite. Down south, the Hokkiens refer to it as 'ber' but up north, it's 'moi'.

lena said...

my grandparents called it 'mui', they were teochews. As far as i can remember, they eat porridge more than they eat rice, not chicken or fish porridge but like what you described , plain white porridge and some other side dishes.

WendyinKK said...

Isn't it weird that angmohs take oatmeal but not congee?
I find congee being much more palatable than oatmeal.

Lisa Ho said...

I call it 'Moi'...
and I am making in for our dinner tonite, just have it plain with salted beancurd, scramble eggs with lobak masin...
being a malas mom today ;)

My Little Space said...

I love taking congee like this. It's simple and easy to digest. Then eat more after that. hahaha.... Happy weekend.
Kristy

Little Corner of Mine said...

Comfort food for me.

Jeannie said...

I must say I am not very partial to porridge too but still will eat if there isn't any other choice:P

ICook4Fun said...

Jenn, yea this is what we eat too when we are not well :)

Yen, at least he eat this when he is not well. Not mine :)

Biren, we had this for lunch nearly everyday when we were young. I too like making it with turkey bones.

Cheah, yes we called it 'ber'

Lena, same with us too. Plain white porridge with some side dishes.

Wendy, I too prefer congee than oatmeal. I like my oatmeal really watery.

Lisa, ha ha yea easy dinner.

Kristy, yea you get hungry real fast after eat this. They are mostly water :)

LCOM, yea a real comfort food especially during winter.

Jeannie, ha ha I don't mind having it once a while.

Anonymous said...

I love congee especially cantonese style. I grew up in Indonesia where most congee is cooked well through and is very thick. Same as you, the Hokkien style is not to my liking as I can taste the rice grain. Btw, thanks for visiting my blog.