Burrr….I’m still feeling a wee bit of the chill of winter nipping at my toes these days, how about y’all, dear readers? When you’re a bit cold inside and out there’s nothing better than a warm soul soothing bowl of velvety congee chock full of all kinds of yummilicious bite sized edibles. Comfort food all the way!
We’ve been on a kind of congee kick lately and our latest is this fabulous queen of congees, the Sampan Congee Tang Jai Jook 艇仔粥, a creamy congee filled with delectable treasures from the sea and the land and then some. The name 'sampan congee' comes from the many small boats, called sampans 艇仔, that ply the many waterways of Guangzhou (Guangzhou is smack in the middle of a large delta area, FYI) from whence is congee first emerged.
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| Sampan in Guangzhou (photo by Lai Afong circa 1880) |
Tracing all the way back to the Qing dynasty 清朝, these sampans started to serve food to the folk seeking river pleasures. They created the sampan congee 艇仔粥, a bowlful of the creamiest rice porridge chock full of both fresh and dried seafood, bits of the famous Cantonese roasted duck, crunchy peanuts, crisp and chewy fried dough bits. It really is the queen of congees and thus has been passed down to this day. It's a congee that is hard to beat and amazing as a soul fortifying meal in one.
The first thing to do when making congee is to make a pot of basic congee. Basic congee is just white rice cooked until the grains are broken down and the resulting mixture is a lovely creamy rice infused porridge. Sometimes an extra ingredient or two added to basic congee for subtle adjustment of flavor or to help create extra creaminess.
Check out our basic congee recipe. Note that congee takes time to cook down properly. It’s a good idea to do the big pot of basic congee the day/night before and then the next day you can heat it up and throw together the sampan congee ingredients for a big and fun congee bash.
Once you’ve got that basic congee under your belt it’s time to gather the ingredients for sampan congee. We start with fresh seafood. The fish that is traditionally used is the same one used for all Cantonese style congee, the fresh water grass carp 鯇魚. This fish has a tender smooth texture and won’t fall apart when cooked.
In Hong Kong you can find this fish sold fresh at all the supermarkets, as this fish is super popular here. In other places I would look for it at the Asian grocery markets. When buying make sure the fish is white is color and has absolutely no fishy smell.
The ingredients added to this congee are sliced to bite sized pieces first, so as to facilitate being able to get a bit of everything in one spoonful of the congee. Therefore our fresh fish is sliced to this beautiful almost translucent thinness.
How to slice to such thinness? It’s a cook’s trick and an easy one at that! To achieve slice the fish into 1/4 inch slices. Take each slice, lay down flat and further slice horizontally but not all the way through. Unfold and you’ll have a beautifully thin slice of fish just like in the photo above.
Let's pause here for a moment and talk about the two major methods used to combine ingredients with basic congee. The first method is called 即熟, translated as "immediately cooked" and is where boiling hot basic congee is ladled over either cooked ingredients or thin slices of ingredients that can cook quickly in the congee's residual heat. We use this method for our sampan congee.
The second method is called 生滾, translated as "raw boiled", and is where the raw ingredients (usually sliced in larger pieces) are boiled in the congee until cooked. This infuses the flavor of the cooked ingredients into the congee, making the congee more delicious. This method is considered more sophisticated.
Okay, back to start building our sampan congee! Using the 即熟 method we start layering with thinly sliced fish in each bowl along with slivers of ginger and curls of spring onion.
The next ingredient for sampan congee is deep fried fish maw 炸魚肚. Fish maw is the air bladder inside of fishes that allow them to be buoyant in the water. The kind we want is thinner types of fish maw that have been deep fried to puffiness. These lovely bits of spongy texture will soak up flavor and congee.
You can find deep fried fish maw at HK supermarkets and wet markets. Outside of HK look for it at the asian grocery stores.
To prepare deep fried fish maw boil it in water until softened. Let cool then squeeze water out. Then slice to desired size.
More treasure from the Seven Seas! We present the dried squid, 乾魷魚. Sun drying the squid intensifies the umami of the squidgy flavor and changes the texture to a lovely chewiness.
To prepare for use rinse off if semi-dried and still flexible (better kind to buy) and slice in thin strips. If the squid is the type that is dried hard then rehydrate until pliable and then slice.
Look for dried squid 乾魷魚 at the stores that sell Chinese dried seafoods. There are usually some in every neighborhood in HK and also at the wet markets. In HK you can also visit the Dried Seafood Street in Sheung Wan where the whole street is lined with stores selling all kinds of dried seafood. Amazing place to stroll about on a sunny afternoon!
Chinese roasted duck 烤鴨 is the only land meat added. It probably ended up in this congee because roasted duck is a traditional Cantonese speciality and therefore very available for those early sampan vendors as well as desirable to their congee clientele. Also because everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is better with roast duck!
Buy cantonese roasted duck 烤鴨 at roasted meat shops in HK, called sui mei shops 燒味店. Again these shops are found in every neighborhood in HK. Also roasted meats are offered in many supermarkets.
As with all the other added ingredients, thin bite sized pieces are the best for this congee so that you get a bit of everything with each spoonful of the congee.
At this point we're ready to add the basic congee. Making sure your congee is nice and hot before ladling into the bowl. Stir gently to distribute ingredients evenly in the hot congee. Your sampan congee is now ready expect for the toppings.
Sampan congee toppings! The first is fried peanuts. Sooo good! Nutty and crunchy, these peanuts provide the perfect contrast to the creamy texture of the congee.
You can sometimes find these peanuts selling at the Chinese barbequed meat shops, also known as sui mei shops 燒味店. And sometimes at the congee shops 粥店. I have also discovered it at some supermarkets near their roasted meat counters. It varies and you kinda need to be on the lookout for these nutty delights.
This second congee topping, fried dough sticks or youtiao 油條, you can buy from your local congee shop. This deep fried dough is super light and airy on the inside but crunchy on the outside. It's a bread made just for congee. Congee shops 粥店 make these fresh everyday and will have them in a case in the front of the shop.
Youtiao are sliced into bite sized chunks and then dunked into the congee. Part of the fun of the congee experience is the dunking! The youtiao absorbs the congee, making each bite a contrast of creamy and crunchy.
Tip: If your fried dough stick has gotten a bit soft you can toast then for a couple of minutes and they will return to a just fried crispiness.
Out last topping is super cool and a specialty, again, of the Guangdong area. Very close to the sea is Guangdong province so there are so many sea specialties! This is the dried roe of the shrimp 蝦籽. No idea how the heck they process these roe, it’s so tiny! But so darn yummy, these dried roe have an intense, slightly salty, shrimpy umami flavor.
We’ve used these before in one of our favorite noodles, Shrimp Roe Noodle, a classic Guangzhou noodle dish that's out of the world delicioso. For this sampan congee, we use it to sprinkle over the congee as the final triumphant touch!
This sampan congee 艇仔粥 does take a wee bit of work but it's really the most glorious of all the congees! Try it out and see if you don't get swept off your feet!
Sampan Congee Recipe 艇仔粥
(4 servings) Prep time: 15 mins Basic Congee cook time : 1 1/2 hour
Ingredients:
- 1 basic congee (click link for our recipe)
- 1/2 cup deep fried fish maw 炸魚肚
- 1 deep fried dough stick youtiao 油條
- 10.5 oz grass carp 鯇魚, 300g
- 2 tbsp slivered fresh ginger
- 4 tbsp shredded spring onion
- 4 tbsp dried squid 乾魷魚
- 1 cup cantonese roasted duck 烤鴨
- 4 tbsp fried peanuts
- 1 tsp dried shrimp roe 蝦籽
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
Directions:
Prepare the basic congee: Make the basic congee according to the recipe. It will take around 1 1/2 hours. You can make it the day before. Heat up to simmering while you prepare the congee ingredients. Adjust the thickness of congee to your preference by adding a bit of water.
Prepare the congee ingredients:
Prepare the fish maw: Boil water in a small pot. Add the fish maw and let cook for a couple of mins until completely softened. Remove from water and, when cool enough to handle, squeeze the water out. Slice into 1/4 by 2 inch slices.
Prepare the fish: Rinse and then pat dry the grass carp. Slice the fish into 1/4 inch slices, removing any bones. (The bones will be large ones.) Take each slice, place down flat on cutting board and further slice in half horizontally from meat side towards skin side. Don't cut all the way through, leaving a bare 1/4 inch unsliced. Open the slice and lay out flat. Your thinly sliced fish is ready for the congee.
Prepare the aromatics: Slice the ginger into 1/8 by 2 inch matchsticks. Let soak in cool water for 5 mins. Slice spring onions to shreds. To make it easier you can use a shredder.
Prepare the other ingredients: Rehydrate dried squid if necessary. Slice squid to 1/4 by 2 inch matchsticks. Remove roasted duck meat from bones and then slice to the approx. same size matchsticks.
Combine ingredients and basic congee: Put out 4 nos of noodle bowls. Divide the sliced fish, ginger matchsticks and spring onion shreds equally into the bowls. Divide the sliced fish maw, sliced dried squid and sliced roast duck equally into the bowls. Scoop the very hot basic congee into the bowls and stir to mix ingredients evenly throughout.
Prepare the congee toppings:
Prepare youtiao: Separate the youtiao into two. You'll see that it rips apart easily into two long lengths. Slice into 1 inch pieces. If you want the youtiao to be more crispy toast for a min or two in the toaster oven.
Add toppings: Sprinkle with peanuts, shrimp roe, and cilantro (opt). Add a couple of youtiao on top of congee and serve the rest in a bowl for diners to serve themselves as they wish. Serve up some hot and deliciously comforting sampan congee. Enjoy!
Comforting Congees at The Hong Kong Cookery:
Looks great! That is a lot of ingredients. How do you store the leftovers? Like the fried fish maw? And how else to use them?
ReplyDeleteHey Lolai - The fish maw, dried squid and shrimp roe are preserved foods and can be kept in air tight containers. The fish maw can be used for Fish Maw Creamed Corn Soup. Roasted duck is fabulous in soup like Winter Melon Roasted Duck Soup. And try making Shrimp Roe Noodles, yummy! Just use our search bar at the top right to find the recipes! ~ellen
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