Hey guys, a few notes: 1. In the introduction, I (sort of erroneously?) used a Teochew/Thai-Chinese style of 'congee' called Khao Tom (ข้าวต้ม) to illustrate "too thin". This sort of thing totally exists within the Cantonese cooking system too: it's called tong faan (汤饭, Mandarin name 'paofan', 泡饭), is a homecooking classic, and is absolutely acceptable. And while obviously quite Teochew, both me and Steph quite like the restaurant where I took this footage (maps.app.goo.gl/6CqjizxR4AxcpGNs5). In hindsight, we probably should've just whipped up some too-thin congee ourselves to illustrate the point. 2. Because this is the internet, I really really want to emphasize that we are *not* giving Ethan Chlebowski shade for his congee or anything. In our upcoming couple videos, we're going to be going over a few dishes that exist in that... 'liminal-space-between-cultures' (next video, a popular bakery item in China these days; the following, episode two of our ongoing "western food in Asia" series), which's a particular passion of ours. So it's actually really interesting to see the direction his mind went with it - and the direction many congees online out there go. I've got a whole ramble-y discussion on the topic in the Substack post, for the curious. 3. If you don't have access to dried scallop or dried shrimp, fish sauce can hit similar notes. However, you would want to add it to the *final seasoning* of the congee - something like 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp should do the job. 4. The Patreon Discord was quick to correct us that in many places you *can* find broken rice, if you have a good Vietnamese grocer. It's called Gạo tấm, and makes for a popular dish in South Vietnam called Cơm tấm en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C6%A1m_t%E1%BA%A5m . Still, our homemade-artisinally-broken rice also totally does the trick (and is not very difficult). 5. Oh! Also, if you happen to be China-based, broken rice is called "米砂". It is not super common, so you'd likely need to purchase it online. Do note that this is not the same thing as 碎米, which is *also* broken rice, but is a lower grade meant for animal feed. 6. If you happen to be working from already broken rice, you still do want to marinate the rice for ~15 minutes with the salt and peanut oil before starting the congee. That's all for now, might edit some more notes in in a bit :)

@bjones9942

15 күн бұрын

Poor Ethan! LoL.

@GothicPotato2

15 күн бұрын

If you're looking for fun ideas for a Western-style congee, my family always does a turkey congee the morning after Thanksgiving with the leftover turkey and a stock made from the turkey carcass. It's a massive hit all around!

@minhtuehuynh8986

15 күн бұрын

The key is a good soup and calculated carbohydrates (you'll want 80% carb for a congee substitute a full meal). . Congee is the way Asians honoured rice with a good soup (plus newly added meat). . Good way to nuture the sicks; across the world.

@johnnychang4233

15 күн бұрын

Is the time taken to soak the rice in water count like marinating also?

@lemonoxygen8846

15 күн бұрын

Hey I think you mean paofan, not panfan for the mandarin pinyin.

As a Chinese American born to parents straight out of Shunde, this vid made me feel SO SEEN!!! Our people are so damn proud of our cuisine, and we are especially picky about our congee. You guys are on the money! My dad would be so proud; he'd also recommend (insist on) adding tofu skin to the base, if you have it, for texture. Thank you for these videos, you guys rock!

@WokOverEasy

12 күн бұрын

So glad you guys got recognized as I hear about this region more. My family is originally from the canton region and later HK so my mom is super picky when she sees other cultures congee as well. She says it has to by "mien" in cantonese which means velvety? to be the best type. Century egg and pork is one of my favorite toppings as well as sampan congee which was supposedly when fisherman threw any extra catch into the congee as a quick meal and sold it out of boats.

@jackcen3002

11 күн бұрын

@@WokOverEasy Yes, I've had sampan congee before! It's like the Cantonese equivalent of San Francisco's cioppino--a tomato-y seafood stew that fishermen would sell at SF's docks, with crusty sourdough :)

I remember when I first got into Asian cooking 5-6 years ago I bought the cheapest 50lb bag of jasmine rice from a brand I trust. When I got home that day, I was forced to learn that broken rice was a product on the market. Had lots of practice making congee for the next 4 months!

@wbw911

14 күн бұрын

Asian grannies : don't waste food

@AlejanderLong

13 күн бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂

@JoshuaC923

7 күн бұрын

Oh dear😂😂 on a positive note your congee game must be ace

I can't believe you called my favorite style of congee "unhinged."

@syaondri

8 күн бұрын

I think it's a compliment in the cooking world, unless you're one of those food purist who hate the idea of strawberry pasta or pineapple on pizza

An interesting fact. I live in Brazil and we also have the exact same dish, we call it "canja", which is basically a rice porridge/soup usually with chicken and potato that eat when we are sick. There's obviously an asian influence that arrived here centuries ago. The name is almost the same, the idea is almost the same and the food is almost the same. I wonder how it went from Asia to Brazil lol

@waisinglee1509

15 күн бұрын

Likely Chinese laborers.

@riffmeisterkl

15 күн бұрын

In India it’s called Kanji, which is also the Malay/Indonesian word for “starch”

@ogorangeduck

15 күн бұрын

Probably from the Portuguese possessions in India (Goa and the rest)

@5skdm

15 күн бұрын

lol In indonesia we just call it "bubur ayam", just means "chicken porridge"

@riffmeisterkl

15 күн бұрын

@@ogorangeduck I think so. Makes sense since the Portuguese invaded India and Malaya at that time.

I'm not too picky about my congee. I use 1 cup of medium grain rice to 10 cups of stock/water in my instant pot pressure cooker. Cook for 1 hour on high, with a natural release. Add the protein, some ginger, a little chili crisp, and any veg in the fridge I need to get rid of. Thanks for the video!

Interesting that the broken rice kernels are used for congee in China. I used to work at a rice mill whilst at UC Davis in N. California. I ran the machine than took the husks off the rice. Broken kernels were totally a function of how I set the machine...drums too close, nearly all the kernels were "dehusked"...with the drawback that it increased the broken %. We shot for 10% broken for normal Calrose, and 2% broken Calrose for sushi rice. Interestingly, the broken kernels weren't sold for consumption. We'd load railcars with the "brokens" and they'd be shipped to Anheuser-Busch's plant in Fairfield to make beer. 🤷‍♀️

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

Yeah I learned this when researching! "Brewer's rice", yeah? I was sifting through whether they might be able to be used for congee to no real satisfactory answer. It should be noted that the broken rice used in congee in Shunde - called 米砂 - is the broken rice from a top grade of rice. The broken rice from 'normal' rice is called 碎米 and is used for animal feed

@nikobatallones

15 күн бұрын

At least it's not going to waste!

@dpelpal

15 күн бұрын

@@nikobatallones It was insane how much broken rice we'd ship from that place. We'd ship abouy 60 railcars full of broken rice per week @ 30,000 pounds per car!

I definitely need to try more congee - I've only ever made it once, when I was ill and didn't have any appetite, but knew that I'd just feel worse if I didn't get some form of nourishment. It was a very slapdash, google-a-ratio then chuck-stuff-in-the-pressure-cooker affair. But a couple of mouthfuls and it was like a revelation: "oh yeah, I get why rice porridge is such a big thing for such a big proportion of the world's population now"

I generally much prefer the okayu ratios to congee ratios, but you guys never dissapoint so I'm excited to see this recipe!!

My unhinged congee favorite is thai num tok inspired. Congee topped with grilled beef, cilantro, green onions, red onions, toasted crushed rice, lime, fish sauce, and shriracha!

For anyone who needs the tip, I actually can find broken rice at my SEAsian grocer here in the United States, the same brand I buy my jasmine rice too. Take a look, and they might have it.

@anthonyalles1833

15 күн бұрын

Yes, you can get Thai broken rice, since they use it to make jook, but ironically, it's also more expensive than normal rice, since it typically comes in much smaller bags,

West African markets should also have broken rice available, It's traditional for many of the flavored rice dishes within West African cuisines (like Jollof rice for example). It's great for making kofte and stuffing. Glad I have another recipe in my back pocket!

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

Thieboudienne is made using broken rice, yeah? I remember hearing that there's a specific west African rice variety, I'm curious how that one could make a Cantonese style congee?

@diikay8430

15 күн бұрын

​@ChineseCookingDemystified yeah, Thiboudienne also uses broken rice. I know both African rice and African cultivars of Asian rice that are used within African cooking, but at my old local African market the broken rice is from jasmine rice (and for a while, they just stocked Cơm tấm)

Ever since I heard about broken rice for congee a year ago, I've been cutting my cook time in half by running it through an old coffee grinder that I hadn't got rid of yet.

This is the first time I've come across a video that specifically talks about something from 顺德。 It's a city very close to my heart ❤

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

Ha we've got a couple Shunde recipes on here, we lived there for three years after all :) Here's some 拆鱼羹 kzread.info/dash/bejne/mH2X1KZvYMjIoLA.htmlsi=kZEI2wH-9_4W9GW2

When I was first seriously getting into Chinese food, I found congee too bland. But after trying it a few times with different add-ins, I was surprised to find I had developed a craving for it! After my neighborhood of Flushing in Queens became NYC's largest Chinese community, I had a plethora of places to have congee whenever I want. But since I'll soon be moving to a comparative Chinese-food desert, having your easy and typically well-explained method at my disposal will be very valuable to me. My thanks to you both!

@patavinity1262

15 күн бұрын

As someone who currently lives in a Chinese food desert, I miss being able to go somewhere like Flushing.

@Jahalang82

9 күн бұрын

People tell me that it’s too weird but I just put in like two to three lemons wedges worth of juice.

I'm stirring both ways, I can't be stopped

You two are awesome. Love this channel

In Tamil Nadu, we call our rice porridge "kanji", its usually very simple, just rice boiled to smithereens and served up with some salt, pepper and chilli if you're adventurous. It's a must have for anyone recovering from a fever.

I can't stop comparing congee to grits in my head while watching this, which makes me wonder if you could make some kind of congee with ham hocks and collard greens...

@brookechang4942

15 күн бұрын

I'm sure you could braise ham hocks and collard greens and use them as a congee topping. Edit: Hell, it wouldn't be any weirder than carbonara congee. (I love congee and I love carbonara, but something about that combo is just... sus.)

@themocaw

15 күн бұрын

​@@brookechang4942Its just a watery risotto.

@themocaw

15 күн бұрын

Iirc Ham and pickled mustard greens are toppings for congee too.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

@@brookechang4942 lol the production mostly tastes like parmesan cheese congee. There's a traditional Shunde style of congee that adds a couple sheets of their local old school acid-set buffalo milk cheese so it's not *totally* insane, but yeah. Some skepticism is warranted, but try a little parm in a congee sometime, it's surprisingly solid

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

In parts of Guangxi they literally make congee with cornmeal :) We still have the idea of a "Guangxi grits" video floating around in the ether (though making congee with whole pieces of their local waxy corn is a bit more common)... I think most things that could top a grits competently could top a congee and visa versa

Thanks for sharing this, I love your videos. It’s always educational and very detailed enough for a person who is not that familiar on how to cook Chinese dishes like me. So thanks a million for this. I hope you come out with a cook book with the same approach like your videos to inform and educate and teach people how to cook Chinese recipes. You make it seem to easy every single time in each video to cook Chinese food. ❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏

the self-made fanart at 1:55 is what we all needed. That is merch I would buy.

you hit it out of the park every time. i'm from HK and super picky with my congee. i can just tell from looking at the smoothness, consistency and shine whether it's done right or not. your congee looks incredible.

Tried this recipe for the congee base with pork and century egg, came out great - thank you so much for sharing this recipe!

I adore congee and am fortunate enough to be able to buy broken rice and even frozen prepped rice. learned so much from this video thank you i use way too much seasoning in my broth in this comforting wonderful dish. I will follow your steps precisely thank you so much!❤

Perfect timing. I was just looking up Vietnamese cháo recipes yet always ending up on Chinese congee videos this week. 😂

Day old left over rice and using a whisk is typically what happens in my house hold. I find i get the similar texture really quick. I do eat rice everyday though so it's more conivnient. I love fish and pork balls too. Sometimes ill so velveted pork slices which also works. Velveting is incrediblely affective in congee. Great recipe, reminds me of back in Hong Kong!

Congee taught to me by my mother in her Kitchen. Breaking down the rice made easer: We would lightly wash the Jasmine rice and then let it soaked overnight. By the next morning the rice will be soft enough it will be easier to break down when you boiled your rice. We use roast pork bones to make the broth for the congee at her restaurant she would use a hand blender to smooth out the texture of the congee when the rice has softened, it will be a lot quicker. Set the heat to low once rice is boil. I would add in a tablespoon of chicken bouillon because I don’t have pork bones. The key to a good congee is the broth. Stirred the bottom of the pot so the rice doesn’t get burn. Once the congee is burn you have to throw out the congee at the restaurant and start all over again because the congee will have a burn taste to it. Dehydrated some Shiitake mushrooms and dry scallops overnight. Dice up the mushrooms and break apart the soft scallops. Strain the mushrooms and scallops water into the pot. It will give it some added favor to the congee. While the rice is continuing cooking add in your dice mushrooms with the rice. After the congee has the desired texture add in your: dry scallops, dry beans curd , mince water chestnuts, and mince Chinese preserves turnip while the congee is cooking. Then congee is also ready add in your quick ingredients just before the congee is done: marinate filet fish, fresh prawns, thousands years old eggs, ground pork or beef, or chicken, whatever you like in your congee. I generally like to shred some fresh young ginger and added to the congee. Seasoning your congee with white pepper, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Topped your bowl of congee with diced green onions and cilantro. At the restaurant they charge five dollars for a medium size bowl, at home for free, just your love and time but you can you collect from your family members to buy things for yourself. 😂🤣🤣

In Bangladesh and West Bengal in India, people est something very similar called fena-bhaat. The consistency is similar and it’s eaten with ghee, green chili, fried round slices of potato, fried fish, and even an egg omelette. It’s pure soul food.

@krysab6125

15 күн бұрын

Ooh, that sounds delicious!

@Sunila_DragonladyCH

15 күн бұрын

I was browsing the comments to see if anyone had posted about this. My dad always makes fun of me and my mum, but when my grandma made it we were in heaven. I need to make some this weekend !

@meantares

12 күн бұрын

@@krysab6125 indeed it is. Give it a try sometime. Esp. as Sunday breakfast.

Another easy way to make congee is to use leftover cooked rice. It takes absolutely no time to turn into mush once you start boiling.

@mathewritchie

6 күн бұрын

This is how most of mine is born.

Perfection !!!!

Awesome Video!!! I would really love to see a video on the different types of sweet congee or something like that if possible!!! Best wishes!!! 😊😊😊😊❤️❤️❤️❤️

Looks delish... And I learned stuff, too.

Consistently, y'all make informative content that inspires me to try something on my own. Answering a question I didn't realize I wanted to ask anyone but my Cantonese mother (who doesn't always get where I'm coming from)! Random thing, I wish you had spoken about the word "congee" and how it has no relation to what Chinese people call this stuff lol

I really enjoy congee, and I haven't tried making this style before, I'll give it a go. I often cook Korean style juk (congee). 😊

Congee is my new chicken soup. Ever since I tried the dried scallop version in a congee restaurant. My fave has got to have pi dan and seafood, with generous white pepper and gronions and cilantro. Sooooo good

Congee is one of my favorite breakfasts, the broken rice is interesting, I basically do that without knowing about it, same with the dried shrimp, thirst time hearing about it... but I have used it many times. I will often go with canned beef of some kind... there we have a likely non-traditional ingredient but I make it as broke, strung out, homeless 20 year old.

When I heard about the broken rice type congee a while back, I mimicked the consistency with soaked rice (30 mins in water) in a food processor. I used about 3-4 pulses, and got the size you had in the video. These days, I prefer the consistency of congee from medium grain rice. And presoaking rice saves a lot of time in cooking, and keeps in the freezer.

I always put my rice and water into vitamix and lightly blend, before dumping into the pot.

@Bababuza

8 күн бұрын

This is the way!!

Your Dog is sooo adorable ❤

You can get away with just freezing the soaked rice (not crushing them before freezing), the process of freezing will break down the rice for you (water expand and damage the cells during freezing). A lot of cantonese channel use this method to reduce traditional cooking time from couple hours to 30 minutes, I tried and it works.

Congee is like my favourite food by far. I’m love it so much I enjoy cooking it as much as I eat it. I actually really like a 1/20 ratio and use a electric whisk towards the end ahha

Yeah, I'll acknowledge that when you come from a rice eating culture, you get picky about your rice. The first 2 are beloved childhood favorites but dad would also make this chilli-scallion-soy sauce condiment to put on top, too. Someone else in here mentioned fu chook which is a nice addition to ginkgo nuts and dried tangerine peel. Good job guys, texture of that jook looks +A!

Excellent info as usual, thanks! Can you please do a video of congee using pre-cooked rice? What ratio would you use?

Nice timing. I googled congee several times today lol

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

It's no coincidence...

Broken rice is easy to come by here in Canada at any asian grocer and even in some standard grocery stores. If you don't have a specific asian grocer try a standard grocery store in an area more populated with asian people and there is a higher chance of finding it. I've also found grocery stores are usually pretty good about bringing in a specific product if you ask.

Not sure if anyone has already mentioned, but you can gets bags of broken rice in the Thai section of any good store selling Asian food stuffs, since they use it to make Jook, their version of congee. BTW, I don't know what it's like elsewhere, but dried scallops are, unfortunately, insanely expensive over here in the Bay Area.

Wow... ok.. I made myself some basic congee a week ago, and ended up with the Cantonese texture and I wasn't even trying.. Usually I prefer a bit thicker but, energy levels and just how I was feeling meant, however it turns out. Had it with a fried egg so- Yummy :)

This type of congee is very similar to Indonesian congee, "bubur ayam". We usually add shredded chicken, scallion, celery, kecap manis (optional) or soy sauce, fried shallots, cakwe (fried spongy dough), chicken broth (seasoned with garlic, shallots, turmeric, and aromatics), and we topped it with kerupuk/shrimp crackers. Sometimes fried peanut or soybeans is added, but some people don't like it...

Interesting. I've always wanted that nice congee texture but most recipes I find either say to soak the rice the night before or add oil or put a spoon in the pot. This is the first time I've heard of using broken rice. Can't wait to try it!

In Thailand, I like another style. We made soup with however things you wanted (I called them toppings) then we poured it into a bowl of cooked jasmine rice and called it a day. Normally this dish would sell at night market. Sellers would separate rice, soup and toppings anyway you wanted.

Vietnamese grocery stores sell broken rice which is usually eaten with grilled pork chops or other meats. It's called com tam. It is more expensive than regular jasmine rice

In Sydney the local Cantonese seem to call it ‘Jook’. There are a number of Congee/Jook joints around but my favourite is the Superbowl in Dixon Street, and also in Golbourn Street. So understated and delicately balanced. Preserved egg and pork is my favourite

@queenapril0009

15 күн бұрын

That's my favorite style too. I think Steph and Chris actually have a video of century egg pork congee too!

@yesfinallygot1

15 күн бұрын

Yeah that's how you say it in Cantonese. You can hear him saying it when talking about the congee base and stuff. Not sure why it's called congee in English tbh

@RaymondHng

11 күн бұрын

@@yesfinallygot1 The popular English name _Congee_ derives from the Tamil word கஞ்சி (kañci). The Portuguese adopted the name as _canje,_ with the first document mentioning the dish and the word in 1563. The English name was adopted from the Portuguese.

@yesfinallygot1

11 күн бұрын

@@RaymondHng I see, that's interesting! Thanks for sharing!

The fancy rice cooker (Neurofuzzy) has porridge setting built-in. That's been great for steel-cut oats and all sorts of cool grains.

At home, our favorite jook (congee) is with century eggs and green onion. And some pork if we feel fancy.

I like unhinged congee. I sauté some aromatics in oil, I throw my chicken thighs in when the rice is cooking, with some chicken powder, let it all cook up together, thin it out after if i want, shred the chicken. Then top it with anything vaguely Chinese i have in the pantry (which happens to be a lot of things!). Being from the south, it’s like chicken and rice, Chinese inspired. If i do this in the instapot, it takes 30 mins and I can eat for days. I ❤ congee.

When you described the broken rice process, I couldn't help but wonder if you've tried instant rice? IDK if it's just in the US, but it's basically parboiled and re-dehydrated rice, which makes it cracked and broken apart in a manner pretty similar to your broken rice. I'll have to try using it with your process this weekend!

Another method to get the same effect if "lazy" is while the rice is cooking you just stir for approx 3-4 minutes while in rolling boil not too agressive but just enough that the soft mushy rice grains get "crushed" I think this is the same technique that is used to give the guandong style congee its texture

idk why but ive always cooked my proteins separate from my congee and just added it at the end as a topping. My personal favourite addition to congee is century egg and garlic chives.

@nikobatallones

15 күн бұрын

In (one of) our (FIlipino) version(s), we cook the chicken alongside the congee -- seasons the rice and gives you protein all in one go!

@anthonyalles1833

15 күн бұрын

You can also add some Chinese sausage towards the end and let them cook together with the congee.

@Shiirya

15 күн бұрын

Honestly i think you can just cook in another pan some meat or so, vegetable that would require more cooking time and then add the premade congeee on top of it to finish the cooking, you'll have plenty of flavour and more variety of product like that, but as he say at the begening generaly most congee have a light flavour, so i guess you want to keep the rive a bit more light on the taste, that why they probably just do a quick cook for those. Its the kind of thing you have to test and adapt to your own tastes

ive been making congee for about a month now and thought i had it down pat. i went to a local chinese spot thats known to have great congee and i was humbled big time. then i scoured the internet to see different means of doing it. crossing fingers that this broken rice and 1:16 ratio might just be it

1:53 love these drawings

I love 皮蛋瘦肉粥 🤤

A convenience I've gotten into when imitating hand minced ground meat in the west (with apartment neighbors) is to get pre-ground meat and whip it in a stand mixer for a few minutes on low speed, kind of like making sausage. The stand mixer is violent enough to break down some of the pieces to mimic the hand mincing action and the whipping takes care of getting the proteins sticky. It will get you 80-85% of the way to the real thing. Hope this helps anyone who cant bash meat with a cleaver!

what do you mean the egg one is unhinged!!! it's so slurpable and good and great when you're sick and need something easy to digest but has both carbs and protein to keep you full!!! i usually immediately break the yolk and mix the egg in the piping hot congee to cook it though. also, i've found that if you soak the rice for at least 30 minutes (i go for overnight) it's easy to break the grains with your bare fingers, so that may be a good alternative if you don't want to bring out the rolling pin.

Hell yeah brother

Carbonara congee sounds amazing

Congee always make me think of Bruce Lee's diet where he always had congee with liver for breakfast. I made it once with pork liver and loved it. But then started just having liver and eggs. Should do that again.

Woo, I better go make this, huh?

Uh, yeah, totally didn't agree with the assessments of the congee at the beginning, who could be that picky >_> I guess the Canto blood flows in my veins stronger than I thought But for real, your mentioning, Steph, about juk with red bean reminded me I had a recipe for black rice juk with red bean I was trying to work out. Guess I know what I'll be inflicting on the family tomorrow night!

oh, that's fascinating and delicious looking! Do you think the ingredients and technique would work in my zojirushi rice cooker, which has a congee setting? My standing is a bit limited...

@TheLazyGeniuses

13 күн бұрын

To get that signature congee rice texture, you really need the convection movement from a simmer which sadly the zojirushi won't give. That being said, many people still like congee from a rice cooker so if you enjoy it, I don't see why you can't do the same add ins as the recipes above

Have you ever tried rinsing and freezing the rice overnight? The ice crystals do the work! I realize it might not be feasible globally, but am curious how it might compare in texture to your (lovely) congee.

So, it's like rice grits in certain US southeastern states? Haven't had Cantonese congee since I lived in China in the late 70's. It was so good!

pork liver+kidney still my all-time favorite congee topping...

Cook medium grain rice with smoked meaty bacon bones ! It lifts the congee to another level.

Thanks for the video! One question though - do you think it's possible to swap out the scallops to make it vegetarian? My first thought was dried shiitake, but I'm not sure if that'd interfere with the flavor too much.

@RaymondHng

11 күн бұрын

It's a flexible dish. You can add anything to it.

@ChineseCookingDemystified

10 күн бұрын

A couple shiitake stems might work, you don't want it to be too strong or effecting the color of the congee.

@myriostos

8 күн бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified Good to know, thank you!!

This should be good. I hate dried scallops so im thrilled i can use fish sauce

thoughts on poha congee? ( rice flakes )

Hi, I was wondering if you've heard of freezing rice for congee. I've seen lots of people saying to freeze washed rice, and the bits of water in the rice will expand and crack the grains. It doesn't look visibly different than normal rice, but it also cooks into congee faster. Is this a good equivalent, or does breaking it first lead to a better texture? Also, do you have any good suggestions for toppings / additions for a vegetarian?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

I've heard this before, and it makes sense as well

@joshdauber1263

15 күн бұрын

@@ChineseCookingDemystified Thanks for the quick reply! I'm a huge fan of your content, it's been super useful to my life as a person who needs to eat as well. Hopefully this isn't pushing too far, but are there any standard congee ingredients/toppings that are vegetarian? I always struggle to get something interesting but also not overdoing it and I was wondering if this is a problem with an already existing solution, i.e. is this an already solved problem in China?

@TreeTrunkCrabWhacka

15 күн бұрын

​@@joshdauber1263 Pickled mustard greens, toasted sesame seeds, fermented red bean curd, oyster/button/shiitake mushroom, wood ear, wonton crisps, peanuts, fried onion/garlic, century egg, duck egg, reggular egg, youtiao, green onion, fresh ginger, white pepper, coriander leaves Also, for this recipe, if you wanted to sub the dried scallops for kombu you can remove it after cooking. Roll it up and slice thin to create an interesting crunchy, long, but also slippery topping. Also great in salads and soups. It *may* turn your congee slightly green depending on how much you add.

I've always broken my rice up in the pot with a stick blender when I'm too lazy to let it fully cook and break down, but breaking it down before cooking looks like a way better method. The stick blender is just really inconsistent unless you blend for a while, in which case you run the risk of getting it too smooth.

Do you guys have a pressure cooker version of the congee base recipe? I have been making 1 part (1/2 cup) medium grain rice to 8 parts water for 22 minutes in an Instant Pot. I'm switching to broken jasmine rice though, that is so much cheaper!

@ChineseCookingDemystified

15 күн бұрын

Nah we still don't own a pressure cooker. One day perhaps (it could definitely add value as a 'bean cooker' at least, for sure), but believe it or not we do try to minimize gadgets where we can :)

@AltLeftTradWife

15 күн бұрын

Haha, I have noticed the dearth of gadgets in your videos! It is inspiring, how much use you get out of your woks. Besides IP, I also have a very basic stovetop pressure cooker that I can use without the lid as a pot. If you're ever in the market for a pressure cooker, that kind will serve you better than an IP.

On rare occasion I have seen broken rice sold at 99 ranch, in SoCal. It was a smaller bag and it isn't consistently carried. When I did see it, it was really cheap in comparison to even cheap rice. But yeah, xD just smash your own rice guys lol

I like my congee in-between. Meaning, not too running and not too thick.

You can get Broken Rice at Asian supermarkets or your city Chinatown.

Do you have any tips on amping up umami or flavor for a vegan version of congee? Shiitake, I imagine... but what else. Perhaps something from the fermented soy family?

@RaymondHng

11 күн бұрын

Dried beancurd or dried tofu skin

❤❤❤

Never mind how thin/watery or thick the congee is, but what is the best beer to go with dim sum? Light beer? Darker heftier amber? Full on Guinness? IPA? American styled lager?

An even lazier way: skip the rolling pin and throw soaked rice straight into the freezer. I usually let the rice soak overnight to get real soft, cook straight from frozen and cooking time is about the same

I once bought speck at the deli/dumpling section of a local shanghainese restaurant, so the congee carbonara probably isn't that far fetched. Not sure i would add the cheese though.

I grew up with meat floss on my rice soup!

Someone need to show Gino D'Acampo the "unhinged" congee and tell him it's basically like risotto

When networked put rice in the food processor can break it down?

Congee was the conduit for me to try century egg for the first time after a co-worker brought some to work to share. Still kind of not my thing but I did get it. Although still very much a novice and terrible at making it, I like that congee/porridge is versatile enough for to me experiment with flavors. Like a 'pho' congee and a Mexican-flavor congee. I was super broke after being laid off. Rice is (relatively) cheap and I had a bunch of pantry ingredients from when I could afford to cook actual meals. And necessity being the mother on invention and me sick of plain rice, fried rice, etc, and having a variety of soup base powders, dried herbes, etc. I made those Frankenstein congees to expand on the flavors I could afford at the time. None were great but there was enough there to give me a variety of flavors and I'll always appreciate congee for getting me through those difficult times.

just for clarification - is the 1 to 16 rice/water ratio by weight or volume?

@ChineseCookingDemystified

10 күн бұрын

By weight.

The guys from Made with Lau have a different approach to getting this texture of congee consistency - with a whisk, after the rice grains are cooked. So it becomes a matter of "when you want the rice broken - before or during the cooking?"

Please do a vid on sweet congees?

I would say the carbonara one is sacrilege, but i also imagine that it could become some tiktok trend/cha cang taang special...

@joshuaharper372

15 күн бұрын

I keep waiting for the Italian cooking police to start shouting in the comments that it doesn't count as carbonara unless you use guanciale... of course I have never yet seen guanciale for sale in my local grocery stores, so I am perfectly happy to make due with bacon.

Jasmine rice vs sticky rice for 粥？

I'm watching this and I seriously want to get a bowl of chicken juk.

As someone who has been studying Japanese for the past 7 years, I can confirm that kanji is a very difficult matter indeed.

@RaymondHng

11 күн бұрын

The popular English name _Congee_ derives from the Tamil word கஞ்சி (kañci). The Portuguese adopted the name as _canje,_ with the first document mentioning the dish and the word in 1563. The English name was adopted from the Portuguese.

I wonder if a food processor would work as well?

damn from the looks it reminded me instantly of königsberger meatballs, even tho the flavor would be a completly different one.