Congee / Jook

Having suffered through a record number of illnesses this early in the season, I've started digging through some different recipes (online and in books) for jook that would replicate the flavors of my halcyon youth. After coming up short, I consulted with some elder family members, and came up with the basic ratio:

1 part long grain white rice, unwashed
10-11 parts water

Combine ingredients in a large-enough pot, bring to a rapid boil over high heat, then drop to low heat and simmer with the lid on but cracked open just enough to prevent the dreaded rice-lava (if you've done this before, you know exactly what it looks like),for about an hour or so, adding water to replenish evaporated loss if necessary. Placing a chopstick across one side of the pot, then laying the lid atop the pot achieves this goal quite nicely.

The accoutrements vary, but follow three basic rules:

1) For meat flavorings (salted-dried fish, turkey bones, chicken, pork, etc.) add immediately after boiling.
2) For vegetal flavorings (raw peanuts, pickled veggies, etc.) add 10min before removing from heat
3) For toppings (century eggs, scallions, sesame oil, etc.) add just before serving.

For a few days' ration, I use:
1/2 C. rice
5 1/2 C. water
2 tsp. salt

topped with:
2 oz. sliced chinese bbq pork
1/8 C. thinly sliced scallions

Salt is usually added to taste prior to serving, but can probably be added anytime after boiling without ill effect. Then again, since I'm usually eating this alone, it's not that big of a deal. While the wife still won't touch the stuff, it has served its purpose well throughout the last few shoveling sessions.

Regards,
-s.

Sherman wrote:I consulted with some elder family members, and came up with the basic ratio:

Sherman,

Thanks for sharing your method, I'm a fan of congee/jook, but it's been a while. I'll be making a warming batch of congee soon.

Enjoy,
Gary

What about the oil fried ghosts??

Louisa Chu wrote:What about the oil fried ghosts??

Louisa,

Are those the fried dough sticks (plain fried crullers) that often (traditionally) accompany congee? Or are you referring to something entirely different?

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

Louisa Chu wrote:What about the oil fried ghosts??

Louisa,

Are those the fried dough sticks (plain fried crullers) that often (traditionally) accompany congee? Or are you referring to something entirely different?

Enjoy,
Gary

Those are it.

What about pork steel wool ?

Glad to see some discussion dedicated to quite possibly my favourite food (including its variants like khichiri/kedgeree).

Fun thing about jook/congee is that the variations are endless, and there's a jook for every ailment. Your liver hurting and your eyes need a little brightening ? Throw a little Shepherd's Purse in there.

My basic jook recipe is 1 cup rice, 1.5 quarts water, 1.5 quarts stock (chicken, turkey, etc), a nub of ginger and occasionally a few cloves of garlic tied up in cheesecloth, and cooked in the same manner described above until the rice 'flowers'. From this white jook you can spin it any which way and of course go to town with toppings.

Smoked black cod jook

Louisa Chu wrote:What about the oil fried ghosts??

Louisa,

I haven't forgotten, but in light of the spirit of the post, the "yuw zhao gwai" (apologies for the massacre of Cantonese anglicization) were neither as easy to prepare nor as healthful. IIRC, anything deep-fried has too much "yeet hay" AKA "Yang", which would knock my system even more out of whack while ill.

Come to think of it, I've not come across a decent recipe for the oil fried ghosts yet. If you've one to spare, I'd be grateful.

If anyone else is curious about what Louisa is referring to, Wikipedia defines it here.

Regards,
-s.

tatterdemalion wrote: From this white jook you can spin it any which way and of course go to town with toppings.

Good point. I neglected to be more explicit that the recipe I gave was more of a blank canvas. You start from there and can add ingredients to taste.

Regarding your basic recipe of 1.5 qt. water and 1.5 qt. stock; if you don't have any stock handy, you can replace it with the full amount of water, throwing in the makings of stock immediately after boiling. You are, in effect, making the stock as part of the process.

For what it's worth, I made another batch today with a couple of the $0.59/lb leg quarters from Harvestime. To the basic recipe, I added 2 leg quarters and 2 half-dollar sized slivers of ginger tied up in cheesecloth, after boiling then proceeded as written. The cheesecloth was used to prevent any loose chicken-y bits from finding their way into the final product. Once cooked, you can fish out the package, shred the meat and return it to the pot, and discard the rest.

Topped it off with some shredded scallions, a dollop of G Wiv-inspired chili oil, and some oyster sauce... good eats!

If you use any kind of bone-in meat, bear in mind that your end product will resemble stock much more closely (i.e. more unctuous when warm, and much more jelly-like after refrigeration) due to the dissolved collagen.

Regards,
-s.
"Harold McGee is my homeboy."

Sherman wrote:

Louisa Chu wrote:What about the oil fried ghosts??

Louisa,

I haven't forgotten, but in light of the spirit of the post, the "yuw zhao gwai" (apologies for the massacre of Cantonese anglicization) were neither as easy to prepare nor as healthful. IIRC, anything deep-fried has too much "yeet hay" AKA "Yang", which would knock my system even more out of whack while ill.

Come to think of it, I've not come across a decent recipe for the oil fried ghosts yet. If you've one to spare, I'd be grateful.

If anyone else is curious about what Louisa is referring to, Wikipedia defines it here.

Regards,
-s.

They actually come frozen - just thaw and bake. And yes, the dreaded "yeet hay" = "hot air". As if a big bowl of watery white rice is so healthful.

i enjoy a shot of white pepper in mine.

HI,

Today's cool temperatures offered conditions to finally use a ham bone for soup. I am not the biggest fan of split pea soup. I didn't want Senate white bean soup, either. I googled for inspiration: congee made with ham bone.

In addition to the ham bone, I had kept the ham jelly from the roasting pan's bottom. Between these two elements, this was quite a full tasting congee.

This will be repeated whenever we next eat a ham, which is likely this fall.

Regards,

¡¡¡ CATHY!!! How dare you not include a ref to a recipe or discussion?!
Really! : )

Geo

I'm a big fan of the Filipino version of this dish, Lugaw at Uncle Mike's Place. So I was pretty stoked to see Kevin Pang's feature on the dish (+ great background of the place) in the New York Times this week. There's a recipe link at the bottom.

Also, if you scroll down on this post on my blog, I have an adapted recipe from Andrea Nguyen's "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen" for Vietnamese Cháo and its complimentary dish, Gỏi Gà. My additions of ginger + fried shallots and lemon garnishes to the cháo are lifted from the Uncle Mike's playbook.

Congee, simple, satisfying, inexpensive, delicious. #homecooking #socialdistancingcooking



Congee, count me a Fan!

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

Today's cool temperatures offered conditions to finally use a ham bone for soup. I am not the biggest fan of split pea soup. I didn't want Senate white bean soup, either. I googled for inspiration: congee made with ham bone.

In addition to the ham bone, I had kept the ham jelly from the roasting pan's bottom. Between these two elements, this was quite a full tasting congee.

This will be repeated whenever we next eat a ham, which is likely this fall.

Wow. I' m jealous. I love congee -- and this sounds like an awesome version.

Ya know that Beef-Chinese-Noodle Soup that
gets lth-ers all worked-up (from Katy's Dumplings in Westmont?)

Last week- I got some of that Soup-To-Go, and couldn't finish it all.
So- what to do with leftovers?
Add in some leftover jasmine Rice from last nights dinner +
Mix it w/some Fresh Ginger- Fresh Garlic- Fish Sauce, White Pepper,
break out that Immersion Blender; then
top it off with crispy bits of Toasted Garlic and Sliced Lemon!

yummmmmmmm!
Lunch. by R. Kramer, on Flickr