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Pictorial: Congee (Jook) with Salted Pork


hzrt8w

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....sigh.... memories.

It is not too late to recreate it.

HEHE I'm on the roll .....got the rice soaking already before I left for work, refrigerated the leftover rice from last night, defrosting the meat.

...a little bit of this, and a little bit of that....*slurp......^_^.....ehh I think more fish sauce.

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Can I make congee with brown rice or is that heresy? Also, about the salted pork... is it ever browned in a pan and added late or is it always customary to simmer it with the rice?

I've never made congee but want to try it.

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Can I make congee with brown rice or is that heresy?

You can try. In Chinese cooking we don't use brown rice.

Also, about the salted pork... is it ever browned in a pan and added late or is it always customary to simmer it with the rice?

I have never seen the salted pork browned first in congee. I like to add it later so that the pork does not turn too rough and dry.

W.K. Leung ("Ah Leung") aka "hzrt8w"
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Can I make congee with brown rice or is that heresy? Also, about the salted pork... is it ever browned in a pan and added late or is it always customary to simmer it with the rice?

I've never made congee but want to try it.

Will brown rice leach starch? I imagine that what you would end up with is little distinct kernels of brown rice in a vaguely thick soup.

PS: I am a guy.

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  • 1 month later...

This is my personal recipe for Jook - I am most partial to it. :)

cheers, JH

The Hirshon Imperial Jook

1 cup rice

8 cups water or unsalted stock (I prefer using all stock)

1 cup or so Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine - dry sherry may be substituted)

3 tablespoons Chinese Abalone sauce (preferred) or 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Recommended Condiments:

Finely minced ginger

Finely minced scallion

Finely minced garlic

Chopped cashews or peanuts (I prefer cashews)

Finely chopped Szechuan Preserved Vegetable (zha cai / 榨 菜 )

Chopped 1000-year old egg (large chunks)

Chopped Pork fu (dried seasoned pork - use shredded cooked chicken if keeping kosher)

Finely chopped bamboo shoots

Hot Chili paste or hot chilies preserved in vinegar, finely chopped

Canned Quail eggs (if using these, throw them into the jook to simmer for the last hour or so)

Sliced Lop Cheong (Chinese sausages, sliced and steamed for 15 minutes)

Sliced Chinese Crullers

Yau Char Kwai) (Chinese Crullers)

Add stock or water and liquid ingredients to rice, bring to a boil, then turn down to a very low simmer and cook at least 2 hours, preferably 3 or more or even overnight - you cannot overcook this dish. According to Chinese doctors, the longer you simmer the jook, the more 'powerful' and healthful it becomes.

When done, ladle into bowls and allow each diner to add condiments to their taste.

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This is my personal recipe for Jook - I am most partial to it. :)

cheers, JH

The Hirshon Imperial Jook

1 cup rice

8 cups water or unsalted stock (I prefer using all stock)

1 cup or so Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine - dry sherry may be substituted)

3 tablespoons Chinese Abalone sauce (preferred) or 2 tablespoons soy sauce

When done, ladle into bowls and allow each diner to add condiments to their taste.

1 cup of wine??!! (Dejah staggers back to bed) :blink:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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The alcohol in the wine totally boils off -  only the flavour remains. :)

Try it - you'll see. :)

cheers, JH

Oh, I know the alcohol boils off; it's the flavour I was thinking about... :smile:

Perhaps you can rename it as Drunken congee!

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hmm... I prefer to salt my pork whole (rather than slicing them up) and I usually let it cure for a day or so. You dump the rinsed pork together with the rice and water and let it go. If you are making it with century egg, I would also add like chopped century egg into the porridge at the beginning. That way you get maximum flavor from the egg as well as the pork.

Pull the pork strips and shred it using 2 forks followed by the addition of some soy, pepper and sesame seed oil.

Cut up some more century egg (if you want), add some chopped scallions, century egg and pork to the individual servings and enjoy!

The wine is supposed to get rid of the porky smell you sometimes get from the meat. 肉臊味

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The way most "Congee" is served and prepared in Hong Kong is to make the Congee base "Chook" and put in the Condiments, Seasoning and whatever else you prefer just before serving to yourself or guests.

The standard is having some julianne ginger and warm oil standing at the bottom of the bowl waiting for service.

If you like salted pork, century eggs, salt eggs, shrimp, chicken, liver or anything it placed into your individual serving heated in a small pot or just cover with the hot chook poured into the bowl.

The Congee when cooking rarely has anything more the Conpoy (Dry Scallops) or Dry Duck Giblets being added to the Rice when beginning cooking. Everything else at all Restaurants and most homes is added just before serving.

Irwin

I don't say that I do. But don't let it get around that I don't.

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(sao in mandarin, so in cantonese)..to me, that means the inherent meat odour, not necessarily in a bad sense, as in rancid, for instance mutton is more 'so' than pork. Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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(sao in mandarin, so in cantonese)..to me, that means  the inherent meat odour, not necessarily in a bad sense, as in rancid, for instance mutton is more 'so' than pork.

Got it! thanks. I am always aware of lamb when I prepare it --- and it seems that spare ribs have more 'so' than lean boneless pork.

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It also depends on how the pork is stored at the store. I find the pork at asian supermarts have more of porky smell than that at wester supermarts. Freshness also might have something to do with it.

Oh... you need not use shaoxing wine to marinate (since most the cooking shaoxing is adulterated with some salt). A cheap dry sherry would make a good subsitute or if you are feeling extravagant, cognac works too.

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What's the point of eating pork if you don't like the "inherent meat odour'?

Maybe it's just that I've never noticed "so" in the pork we get here. Have never needed to marinate the meat in wine to rid the smell.

Cognac would be extravagant for such basic comfort food. :biggrin: Do I need to dress differently to enjoy this? :laugh:

Edited by Dejah (log)

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Well... it's not that I don't like the inherent meat odour but when you can really smell it.... it's not that appealing.

Also, you don't have to use a lot of cognac and definitely not the vsop or xo level. I keep a bottle of courvoisier vs just for cooking purposes and a little splash goes a long way.

Oh... dried conpoys aren't that cheap an item you know... USD$20/lb for ordinary quality is quite extravagant.

皮蛋瘦肉粥 should just consist of century egg, salt pork and porridge.

A variation is to use chinese smoked oysters instead of the dried conpoys but that's a whole different ball game. Also, you can really upscale it with abalone slices (yes albalone!) and using the stock for the porridge base thus elevating the humble jook to rarefied gourmet heights :raz:

Edited by His Nibs (log)
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Maybe it's just that I've never noticed "so" in the pork we get here.  Have never needed to marinate the meat in wine to rid the smell.

I made bak kut teh in hubby's cousin's home in Orange County, LA, a couple of months back. It's true...the pork (spareribs) were odourless compared to the pork we get here in our markets, even when fresh.

Don't mind jasmine tea without its flowery bouquet...because I don't like jasmine tea. :wink::biggrin:

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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I made bak kut teh in hubby's cousin's home in Orange County, LA, a couple of months back.  It's true...the pork (spareribs) were odourless compared to the pork we get here in our markets, even when fresh.

Tepee, that's why some recent immigrants to North America find the pork and beef less "meaty" tasting and the chicken almost devoid of taste, ie: the "chicken-y" taste. That's why some of the posters want to kill that "so" taste with brandies, they are not used to it.

The desire by everyone to have lean meats, and the efficiency of commercial feeds, the chilling or freezing, and the prevalence of antibiotics and growth hormones have cleansed our meats of any "real" and characteristic flavours. Even our so-called free range chickens can't compare in taste to the chickens that one can get fresh killed in a wet market in KL, HK, Taipei, etc.

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Maybe it's just that I've never noticed "so" in the pork we get here.  Have never needed to marinate the meat in wine to rid the smell.

I made bak kut teh in hubby's cousin's home in Orange County, LA, a couple of months back. It's true...the pork (spareribs) were odourless compared to the pork we get here in our markets, even when fresh.

Perhaps the "so" is the result of the feed used in raising pigs. Our barns and feed are so controlled...supposedly no garbage. Then, there's all the antibiotics fed to the animals.

I am sure there is inherent odour in meat, but maybe intensified if packaged for a period of time.

(Dejah makes a mental note to sniff the pork when she goes shopping today. :wink: )

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Hmm... I actually find the pork in San Diego is slightly more 'so' than the stuff my mum gets at home (singapore). As for the chicken issue, I agree wholeheartedly. It really surprised me that the commercially available chicken in california/usa/etc tend to contain more liquids and much more bland tasting.

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The desire by everyone to have lean meats, and the efficiency of commercial feeds, the chilling or freezing,  and the prevalence of antibiotics and growth hormones have cleansed our meats of any "real" and characteristic flavours. Even our so-called free range chickens can't compare in taste to the chickens that one can get fresh killed in a wet market in KL, HK, Taipei, etc.

One time in Beijing - in a university dining room, there was a dish of chicken, but I was not sure it was chicken because of the full flavor. I finally decided that the texture was chicken and not pork and that this was probably the way chicken was SUPPOSED to taste!! LOL!

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