Chaozhou Oyster Congee 潮州蠔仔粥

This beauty is a classic Chaozhou dish, simple to prepare and oh so delicious and heartwarming to consume.  For the easeful time and effort put into preparing this dish, the tastiness output is off the charts!  This Chaozhou Oyster Congee 潮州蠔仔粥 consists of a smooth rice congee base to which are added snips of flavorful preserved vegetables, marinated minced meat and, most importantly, plump and luscious baby oysters.  A sprinkle of umami packed dried flounder power and fresh green cilantro finish off the congee to perfection. 

Basic Congee with Dried Scallop and Tofu Skin 腐竹瑤柱粥

There are tons of recipes for congee out there, and I can totally understand why.  Rice cooked into a soupy mess is delicious, filling and soothing to the soul.  But honestly a lot of the recipes labeled as congee are not really congee.  Rather, they are recipes for delicious rice porridge.  This is a recipe for traditional Cantonese style Chinese congee 粥, a different creature altogether from rice porridge.

Traditional congee or 粥 is thick and creamy and perfect for showing off the simple yet aromatic flavor of rice.   It is so popular a part of the Cantonese eating repertoire that there are dedicated restaurants that serve delicious congee all year round in HK.  Which is saying a lot considering the super high rents in this functional city.  

But it's actually pretty easy to make traditional congee at home.  The most basic congee you can make is with just rice, water and salt.  Today, however, we're kicking it up a notch or three by introducing the more sophisticated classic Basic Congee with Dried Scallop and Tofu Skin 腐竹瑤柱粥, a deliciously creamy congee, ever so delicately flavored with beancurd and scallop.