Congee is undoubtedly a top comfort food for most Asians - especially for the Chinese people, we have congee when we're sick, when it's cold but sometimes just because we like it. This is a centuries-old practice and one will be hard-pressed to answer just exactly when the tradition of cooking congee or rice gruel began. Based on my own deductions, I believe that congee was invented due to the hard times that a lot of peasants in China had to go through. In days gone past, rice was a very precious commodity and not everyone had the luxury of cooking a full pot of rice. Hence, congee was probably invented as the dish uses much less rice but at the same time is most satisfying. Congee is also likened to a thick rice soup and over the course of time, this popular rice-dish has been improved upon and we have all sorts of different congee e.g. pork congee, chicken congee, seafood congee and the like. Note however, that this is my opinion i.e. a statement of opinion if you will and not a statement of fact so please don't quote me - hehe. I suppose that this is my little disclaimer if you like.
Comforting and tasty at any given hour of the day, congee is especially a popular breakfast item as well as for supper. Lately, it has been rather cold here and since I had some spare ribs lounging about in the freezer, I decided to cook myself a steaming hot pot of spare ribs congee. Congee can be dressed up or down so to speak, plain congee is good on its' own with certain condiments or congee can be cooked with a myriad of ingredients for different flavours. Interestingly enough, I was never a fan of congee when I was younger - I think it was because everytime I was sick, I was made to have congee instead of rice by my parents and congee started to have 'sickly'-connotations to me. Now, however, I do crave a steaming bowl of congee more often. Congee is also very simple to make - throw all necessary ingredients into the pot and just boil away!
Tip: Always try to soak the rice for about 1 hour at least in order for the rice to expand, hence the congee will have a smoother texture.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of white rice, soaked (refer above)
3 cups of water (add more if you want your congee to be thinner)
10 inches worth of spare ribs (approximate) - lightly marinated in salt
Condiments:
4 stalks green onions, sliced thinly
Soy sauce, to taste
Dash of sesame oil
Dash of pepper
For more Asian styled comfort food on Tastes of Home, please click below:
Chicken Congee
Watercress Soup Recipe
Method:
First, blanch the spare ribs in some boiling water for a quick second to get rid of impurities. Next, place the lightly salted ribs with the soaked rice in a pot with the water and start boiling. Once it reaches boiling point, turn the heat to low and allow to boil uncovered. Check on the congee periodically to ensure that it does not boil over. Boil for about 1.5 hours on low heat. Ladle into individual serving bowls and add the condiments listed above to taste. It is customary to place all the condiments at the table for individuals to add the condiments to his/ her tastes.
For a more fragrant bowl of congee, you can also opt to roast the spare ribs before boiling with the rice.
Spare Ribs Congee Recipe
Sunday, March 15, 2009 | Labels: Asian Comfort Food, Chinese recipes, Congee, Pork recipes |
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21 comments:
I luv smooth congee but too lazy to soak the rice before cooking...
Hmm...I never know that roast the ribs first before cooking could make a difference! Nice bowl of congee!
I luv HK boat congee. Yours look so delicious!
Dora - well soaking will make it smoother - just soak and do something else? LOL
HLF - thanks! yup, I love roasted ribs congee too - its more fragrant
FFT - thanks! yeah I love HK boat congee too :)
Your congee looks great! I can use a bowl right now.
^^ oh thanks! :)
in fact, so could I - i would like 2 bowls now LOL
Sometimes I even used cooked rice to make congee.
Ya, I am also lazy to soak the rice before cooking. No no I can't! I need to cook a good congee soon.
cooked rice? I must try that too :)
TF - yeah u shld!! :)
my comfort food when sick! add in ribs into congee must taste natural sweet!! a bowl for me pleaseeeeeee.. if I have extra cooked rice,I used it to make this dish too..faster ma:)
I have that bowl!! And it's from Ikea!! :D
oh Hi Bonnie, I bought my bowl from Crate & Barrel :)
Last summer I ate them at a party and has been looking for an authentic recipe ever since. Now I will be able to make them myself. so i made this Chicken Congee for dinner last night, and it was so good! Even my chicken-loving husband liked it. Thank you for shearing your post.
I love congee and I can have it everyday... your congee looks so appetizing , thanks so much for sharing !
^ thanks! :)
I'm thinking of making congee this weekend, thanks!
^ great, hope you'll give this a try!
Hi, do u blanch the spare ribs first then add the seasoning eg: salt, sugar, pepper, sesame oil, corn flour, shaoxing wine? Or do u marinate it first then blanch it? Not sure what is the order. Plan to make spare ribs congee soon.
Hi lillian, I blanched the spare ribs for a quick second before marinating lightly with salt. Don't think I mentioned shaoxing wine in the recipe here, but you can definitely put some with the salt to marinade the spareribs together. The rest i.e. the sesame oil, pepper, soy sauce are condiments that I usually place at the table if I am serving guests, those are the last steps to be added to taste. As for cornstarch, I don't think I mentioned cornstarch at all in my recipe?
Please let me know if you have more questions and hope your congee turns out great!
Cooked mui choy/pork belly goes great with plain congee.
Grind coarsely some tong chai (Hokkien) and mix with minced pork and make into small meat balls. When congee is boiling put in the meat balls until cooked. Tastes absolutely delicious and my daughter loves it.
sounds good!
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