Hello there,
I’ve cooked congee (jook) many times. Tonight, I’m sharing a couple of versions for readers to consider. The recipes are identical apart from the meat used.
I went with chicken for one version, and for the other, I went with pork.
Regular readers may notice that I’m doing something different with these recipes. I’m using more liquid to approach the texture and consistency of Mum’s jook. I usually cook my congee to a thicker consistency. Still, I know many people who like something a little less dense. I’m also using porcini mushrooms for a flavour burst to give greater umami. If I had easy access, I would substitute dried scallops for the mushrooms. The other ingredient I’d like to add is wood ear mushroom for the mouthfeel.
Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
Ingredients
- White long-grain rice (1 cup)
- Chicken stock (8 cups [2 L]) (you could also use a vegan broth)
- Porcini mushrooms
- Mushroom water (1 cup [250 mL])
- Chicken (3 maryland[i] pieces) (you could omit this for a vegan version or exchange it with a slab of pork belly for a porcine version)
- Salt
- Spring onions
- Chilli flakes
Instructions
- Reconstitute the dried mushrooms with hot water and wait for 30 minutes
- Wash the rice until the water runs clear
- Add the rice, stock, and mushroom water to the pressure cooker
- Cut the mushrooms into small pieces
- Add mushroom pieces, chicken maryland pieces, or pork belly into the pressure cooker.
- Cook under pressure for 30 minutes and allow 15 minutes for a natural release of pressure
- Carefully remove the meat and transfer it to a bowl
- Pull the flesh (from the bones of the chicken) using forks
- Discard the bones if using chicken
- Stir the rice gruel and keep heating to the desired thickness
- Stir through the pulled meat
- Salt to taste
- Add and stir through chilli flakes to taste
- Transfer everything to a large serving bowl
- Transfer congee to individual bowls
- Give thanks to the Lord
- Serve with spring onions, shredded lettuce, and soy sauce
Thoughts on the recipe and meal
- If I were cooking for more than just me, I’d use a whole chicken or more thigh pieces and perhaps add a carcass. Sometimes I see necks and giblets on sale, which would also be suitable for flavour.
- If you like a nice bit of pork, I recommend butt, which is shoulder and not gluteal muscle.
- This dish is vegan if you remove the meat and use a vegan stock.
- When I was a child, we had shredded lettuce, ham, and soy sauce to add to our bowls.
- Each recipe makes five large bowls of congee.
[i] For non-Australian readers, the chicken maryland is a thigh and drumstick piece in Australia. I know chicken maryland is a dish in the USA, and Maryland is a state of the union.
