This is another way to make basic congee, except waaay faster! Basic Congee is Cantonese style of rice porridge, cooked down to a dreamy creaminess that beats every other rice porridge you'll ever have! This basic congee is then mixed with other meat and veggie ingredients to make the final delectable congee-as-meal dish.
Congee is a wonderful comfort food, pleasing to both the tummy and the heart. But basic congee such as our Basic Congee with Dried Scallops and Tofu Skin takes quite a while to cook. My hubby discovered this alternative Basic Congee with Century Egg 皮蛋粥 that not only cuts the cooking time by two-thirds but also tastes just as if not more delicious.
Start this quick to make congee with uncooked rice. Rinse the rice in a strainer until the water runs clear.
The only other ingredient needed is century egg 皮蛋, which are duck eggs which have been preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime (calcium oxide) and rice hulls. The preserving process turned the yolk a green grey color and the white becomes a translucent dark brown. It transforms the egg into another taste realm entirely, complex and quite pungent with just a hint of ammonia, rather like that of some of the great cheeses.
Added to this basic congee the century egg adds an amazing flavor boost to the creamy rice as well as being the secret to the quick cooking of the congee. We love century egg!
The century egg and the washed rice are mixed together. I tried to figure out the exact chemical process that takes place that allow this combination to produce congee that cooks so quickly but I soon gave up. I'm no chemist and it was all rather beyond me.
All I know for sure was that it worked a treat and I was able to make congee at a third of the time usually needed! Whoopee!
The only thing one shouldn't do is to pulverize the rice grains themselves, either at the uncooked stage or later while the rice is cooking. This is a trick that some congee shops use to 'cheat' and save themselves alot of time in the making of their congee. But quality will tell and the congee made like that will separate after sitting for a bit in your bowl, leaving grains and ricey water separate. Sorry folks, that's not congee.
We cover and place the mixture in the freezer overnight. I'm not sure if one absolutely needs to do that. Maybe just chill for a few hours and no freezer? I will try different methods in the future and report back. But for now we advise freezer overnight.
The next day we add the water and start the cooking. This is the rice grains after 15 mins of cooking. You can see that the grains have been broken down quite a bit already.
Quick as a flash your basic congee is ready! You can have plain congee or you can add meats, seafood or toppings as you desire. Or you can try out some of the classic traditional Cantonese congees such as Fish Congee 魚粥, Sampan Congee 艇仔粥 or Rabbit Fish Congee 泥鯭粥. Hope you enjoy the congee love!
Basic Congee with Century Egg Recipe
(4 servings) Prep time: 5 min Marinate time: overnight Cook time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
- 1 century egg 皮蛋
- 3/4 cups uncooked rice
- 1 5x7 inch piece of tofu skin 腐竹 (optional)*
- 11 cups water
- salt, to taste
Directions:
Rinse rice several times in water until the water runs clear. Strain.
Wash ash off the century egg (if any) and peel the century egg. Roughly chop egg. Or run through a food processor to pulverize it.
Combine the rice and the egg. If using roughly chopped century egg mix and then crush the egg into the rice grains as much as possible. I used one end of my rolling pin. If you pulverized the egg then all you need to do is mix.
Cover your mixing bowl with cling wrap and let rest overnight in the freezer.
Next day let mixture defrost until it can be removed from bowl into a pot. To the rice/century egg mixture add tofu skin (if using) and water. Heat over high heat. When water is boiling turn heat down to a simmer and let cook, uncovered, for 30 mins or until the rice grains are completely broken down into a creamy texture.
Be sure to keep a sharp eye on the pot, especially in the beginning as starchy water has a tendency to boil over. Also, towards the end, if the congee gets thick but still needs more cooking time add more water otherwise the bottom will scorch.
Once creaminess is achieved add more boiling water as needed to reach the consistency you prefer for congee. Add salt to taste.
Ladle into bowls and serve hot. Enjoy!
*Tofu skin 腐竹 will melt into the congee, adding extra oomph to the creaminess.
Congee-licious Delights at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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