Congee condiment?

[TheSwede]

When I visited Singapore several years ago, my hotel served both asian and european style breakfast. Of course I tried the asian one.

A staple of the Singaporean breakfast (and probably lots of other places in Asia) is Congee, savory rice porridge. Very nice.

I rember adding some sort of condiment on top. It was salty and maybe even had a bit fermented taste - some sort of fermented soy product perhaps? It was a nice contrast to the more mellow taste of the congee.

Can someone suggest what this might have been? What do you usually eat with congee?

[Beebs]

Was it fermented preserved tofu? Sort of soft, creamy, very salty & pungent?

[Chris Amirault]

What color was it?

[mizducky]

Sounds like fermented tofu to me. Wikipedia has a picture -- clikckie here. I love the stuff in congee, especially the chile-flavored type.

[TheSwede]

Tastewise fermented tofu matches, although I vagely remember a brownish slightly dried/shredded texture. This was quite some time ago though, so my recollection is a bit hazy.

To widen the topic a little bit:

What do people like to put on their congee? What condiments are typically served?

[prasantrin]

Could it have been salted fish (usually fried and crumbled/flaked)?

I also like fried garlic.

[Domestic Goddess]

For me it would be fried garlic, a couple of slices of century egg, several steamed white fish, a dash of fish sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Oh, if I am in the mood for spicy, mabe a dollop of chili garlic sauce. Yum!

[BonVivant]

the possibilities are endless. my personal favourites are all sorts of pickled/salted mustard/turnip, especially round northern Guangdong province and the entire Fujian province. i think one only eats fermented tofu curd thingie with plain porridge.

[nickrey]

sliced boiled egg, chopped spring onions, shredded chicken, crunchy little peanuts, those little dried fish, pickled ginger, Indonesian soy sauce (kecap manis), cilantro, asian basil, the list goes on...

[Beebs]

Tastewise fermented tofu matches, although I vagely remember a brownish slightly dried/shredded texture. This was quite some time ago though, so my recollection is a bit hazy.

To widen the topic a little bit:

What do people like to put on their congee? What condiments are typically served?

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Hmmm...could it have been dried pork or fish floss? That would give you the brown shredded texture, but not the fermented taste.... It's sort of sweet-salty from the soy, kind of soft & fluffy. Picture here

[OnigiriFB]

Tastewise fermented tofu matches, although I vagely remember a brownish slightly dried/shredded texture. This was quite some time ago though, so my recollection is a bit hazy.

To widen the topic a little bit:

What do people like to put on their congee? What condiments are typically served?

←

Hmmm...could it have been dried pork or fish floss? That would give you the brown shredded texture, but not the fermented taste.... It's sort of sweet-salty from the soy, kind of soft & fluffy. Picture here

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Mmmmm pork floss. I can eat that solo. I've actually made congee just not to feel bad about eating gobs of pork floss(very high in bad stuff I believe). Yum. I like an omelet with siracha sauce, stir-fried morning glory/water spinach, pickled lettuce, and of course pork floss. That is my go to congee meal. *sigh* I think I know what I'll be having sometime this week. I have pad thai and galbi planned already so maybe end of this week. I'll try to post some pictures then.

Edited July 14, 2008 by OnigiriFB (log)

[Beebs]

Tastewise fermented tofu matches, although I vagely remember a brownish slightly dried/shredded texture. This was quite some time ago though, so my recollection is a bit hazy.

To widen the topic a little bit:

What do people like to put on their congee? What condiments are typically served?

←

Hmmm...could it have been dried pork or fish floss? That would give you the brown shredded texture, but not the fermented taste.... It's sort of sweet-salty from the soy, kind of soft & fluffy. Picture here

←

Mmmmm pork floss. I can eat that solo. I've actually made congee just not to feel bad about eating gobs of pork floss(very high in bad stuff I believe). Yum. I like an omelet with siracha sauce, stir-fried morning glory/water spinach, pickled lettuce, and of course pork floss. That is my go to congee meal. *sigh* I think I know what I'll be having sometime this week. I have pad thai and galbi planned already so maybe end of this week. I'll try to post some pictures then.

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Mom used to make pork floss sandwiches (in white bread!) for our school lunches when I was a kid! Pork floss sushi, too! Mmmm...I think I need to open my brand new giant container of pork floss and have it with plain congee this week. That, a cube of fermented tofu, and an egg fried in a sauce of soy, water & sugar. I will eat the egg first, then pour the leftover sauce over my plain congee. Yum!

[OnigiriFB]

Mmmmm pork floss. I can eat that solo. I've actually made congee just not to feel bad about eating gobs of pork floss(very high in bad stuff I believe). Yum. I like an omelet with siracha sauce, stir-fried morning glory/water spinach, pickled lettuce, and of course pork floss. That is my go to congee meal. *sigh* I think I know what I'll be having sometime this week. I have pad thai and galbi planned already so maybe end of this week. I'll try to post some pictures then. 

←

Mom used to make pork floss sandwiches (in white bread!) for our school lunches when I was a kid! Pork floss sushi, too! Mmmm...I think I need to open my brand new giant container of pork floss and have it with plain congee this week. That, a cube of fermented tofu, and an egg fried in a sauce of soy, water & sugar. I will eat the egg first, then pour the leftover sauce over my plain congee. Yum!

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Egg fried with water, soy and sugar? Could you elaborate a little? That sounds really good! The pork floss sushi sounds umm a bit odd though

[TheSwede]

Pork floss looks like it would fit the mark! Maybe I had pork floss and also added some fermented tofu...?

[Beebs]

Egg fried with water, soy and sugar? Could you elaborate a little? That sounds really good! The pork floss sushi sounds umm a bit odd though 

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It's not so much fried as it's a fried egg with the mix added to it. Mix a couple tablespoons of water, Japanese soy (Chinese soy is a bit too salty for my taste), and a pinch of sugar. Begin frying an egg as normal. Just as it's about over-easy, turn down the heat to low and pour in the soy mixture. Cook the egg until over-medium (or however you like it), about 1 min. I'm pretty lazy so I'll add the water, soy, sugar directly to pan without premixing. But make sure to add the water in first, otherwise the soy will explode all over your arm! I also like a lot of sauce (enough to pour over my congee!), so I'm generous with the water & soy. It's called jiang you pone dan.

Yeah, the sushi does sound weird, but it's actually pretty tasty! I *think* it's Taiwanese-styled sushi.

[djyee100]

The salted fermented bean curd sounds like fuyo. It's bean curd preserved in wine and brine. Fuyo is a common staple in Chinese households, and widely available at Chinese groceries for couple dollars per jar (at least where I live). It comes plain (as shown below) or mixed with chili. The color is light beige. My fuyo is a bit softer and mushier than normal--it's on the old side (& that reminds me to buy another jar when I go shopping).

I like to mash a couple small squares of fuyo and stir it into a pot of steamed spinach or steamed green beans. The saltiness especially complements green beans. One of my cookbooks also recommends fuyo as a sauce for broccoli and any kind of greens, whether steamed or sauteed. The taste is zingy, and I know one fancy-food Chinese cook who admits she's addicted to this simple condiment.

As for other congee condiments, I can't help you there. When faced with a bountiful Asian breakfast buffet, I put every condiment on my congee.

[mizducky]

My favorite congee seasonings tend to be chile-flavored fermented tofu, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, and century egg. I've also been known to sprinkle an ungodly amount of furikake on top.

I also tend to cook my congee with lots of stuff in it -- like crumbled dried shiitake and wood ear, and/or kombu or other sea vegetables snipped into little strips; the long cooking softens this stuff up so that by the time the congee's ready all the dried stuff is nice and tender. I've gotten the impression that it's not really traditional to put as much stuff into one's congee as I do, but it sure tastes good.

Edited July 15, 2008 by mizducky (log)

[yunnermeier]

My favourite is the salty,pickled greens. I don't know what it's called. It's chopped quite finely and is not photogenic. I think it's sometimes eaten with duck rice.

About OP's condiment, could it be the hard-ish small brown wrinkly things? I don't know what they're..possibly dried/pickled bamboo?