Subj : Chicken Congee, part 1 To : All From : Ben Collver Date : Wed Feb 21 2024 10:30:44 MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Chicken Congee Categories: Chinese, Soups Yield: 4 Servings MMMMM---------------------------CONGEE-------------------------------- 3/4 c White rice; Jasmine -preferred 8 c Water 1/2 oz Ginger MMMMM----------------------CHICKEN MARINADE--------------------------- 12 oz Chicken; use any amount you -want 2 ts Corn starch 1 tb Oyster sauce 2 tb Water 1/2 ts Chicken bouillon 2 tb Vegetable oil MMMMM-------------------ADDITIONAL SEASONINGS------------------------ 1 ts Salt 1 ts Chicken bouillon MMMMM-------------------------GARNISHES------------------------------ 2 Green onion pieces 1 Cilantro piece; to taste We'll start by washing our rice (3/4 cup) in a bowl: * Fill the bowl with some water * Massage and mix the rice around with your hands * Drain the water * My dad prefers to repeat this 3 times, for good measure It may seem counterintuitive to rinse rice that's just going to be cooked down in water, but this is an essential step! Washing the grains not only removes dirt, but also excess starch that can lead to gummy, sticky congee. To save some time, we'll start boiling some water (8 cup) for later. For jook / congee recipes, the water-to-rice ratio is usually very high. In my dad's recipe, it's 8-to-1. Next, we'll chop our ginger (1/2 oz) into thin slices, and then into thin strips. Chop a few strands of cilantro (1 piece) and green onion (2 pieces) into small pieces. Cut the chicken (12 oz) into thin slices and place it in a bowl to marinate. Add oyster sauce (1 tb), corn starch (2 ts), chicken bouillon (1/2 ts), and water (2 tb). Mix and massage the chicken and the marinade together for 30 seconds until there's no liquid left. Then, add vegetable oil (2 tb) to the bowl and mix it around with chopsticks for another 20 to 30 seconds. The corn starch helps glue the flavors to the chicken, and lock the juices inside the meat. The oil helps prevent the chicken from clumping together, and also helps seal the juices inside the chicken as well. Chef's Tip: Before cutting, place a towel underneath your board to increase its stability, and decrease the chances that you'll accidentally cut yourself. Pour the boiled water (8 cup) from earlier into a pot, set on high heat, and wait for the pot to boil before adding the rice (3/4 cup). It's important not to add the rice before the pot starts boiling. Once the pot (water only) is boiling, add the rice and stir it around a bit. Another important tip: Don't stir the rice once the pot is boiling yet again, otherwise it will be more likely to stick to the bottom of the pot. We'll cover the pot (water and rice) and wait until it's boiling again. Once the pot is boiling again, we'll partially cover the pot and let it cook at medium heat for 25 minutes. Depending on what "medium heat" is for your stove, you might need to cook it for longer than that. Even though this step is fairly passive, it's an important one. My dad explains that Cantonese people are very proud and particular about the quality of their "jk dái," or the congee base. Once we've hit 25 minutes, we can either proceed with this step or cook it for longer. When my wife and I recreated this recipe using my dad's instructions, I had to cook it for another 10 minutes longer because my "medium heat" wasn't hot enough. Our grains of rice were still fairly solid. It really depends on your stove, and a bit of trial and error. continued in part 2 MMMMM .