Jaded's Kitchen: Cooking: Congee

Brrr.. it's cold out isn't it? What better way to warm up than with a bowl of hot and steamy congee?

I was craving this stuff so bad that I started watching youtube videos on how to make this stuff. All the version that I have seen so far have been kinda watery. I wanted an ultra thick version and I found a recipe for it. Sadly this video doesn't provide more information and the directions on the website are somewhat unclear so I muddled the two together. I'll post the video and website on the bottom of this post.

I had a little more than half of a roasted chicken left from my bulgur wheat salad I made a couple nights ago so I separated the meat and the bones. I used the bones, 6 cups of water, 3 rough chopped scallion, ginger & smashed garlic to make a quick broth. I let everything simmer together with some salt and pepper for an hour while the rice was soaking.

Since I let the stock simmer uncovered I added a cup of water after straining the stock. The recipe says to stir fry the rice before adding the "water" but I totally missed that step. Oh well. My recommendation is you do stir fry the rice before you add the liquid. Otherwise your rice granules will not break down. You'll see it in the pic.

So I let the rice, broth & shredded chicken simmer for about 40 minutes before giving into hunger. I added some chopped scallion, cilantro, rinsed and chopped preserved turnip and a drizzle of soy sauce and sesame seed oil. Oh yeah.. can't forget the Sriracha either.

Damn.. I am beside myself. Soo good :) I'm definitely warm now.