Chinese Chicken Congee 生滾雞粥

Even though the name usually spelled out as "congee," but there are still some variations especially on the cooking method. This time I'm making the "Chinese" style congee, the kind originated from the Guangdong area. The main idea is to cook the raw rice first, usually till nearly paste-like consistency, then you add the marinated ingredients in the end. 

However, I intentionally cooked the rice with some shape retained. As shown in the images, the rice was only about 50% paste-like. So for the rice consistency part, I'll leave that to you to decide the overall preferred texture in the end.

Chinese chicken congee 生滾雞粥 -

Ingredients (about 6 full servings)?

• 600 grams chicken (dark meat preferred)
• 2 regular cups short grain white rice
• 3000ml water
• 1000ml chicken stock
• Some cilantro (optional)
• Some white pepper powder (optional)

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon aged Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper powder
• 1 tablespoon potato starch

How? 

Slice the chicken to bite size pieces, more like thicker slices. If using chicken breast, try to slice the meat with an angle, so you get bigger pieces in the end. Massage and marinate the chicken with all the ingredients listed under the "marinade" section.

Rinse the short grain white rice a few times before cooking. I accidentally forgot to wash the rice first and just use it straight into cooking. The result was still good though. But if you let me go back in time, I'll definitely give it a few rinses just because.

So in the end, ready 2 regular measuring cups of white rice and add that to a big pot. Also pour in 3000ml of water and 1000ml of chicken stock. You can play with the water and stock ratio. However, the rice to liquid ratio should be around 1 regular measuring cup of rice with 2000ml of liquid.

Use medium heat to slowly heat up such big pot of liquid. Stir the rice, especially the bottom from time to time in case of sticking.

Once the liquid has been heated up, it might appear on the slightly bubbling side, which is fine. Just make sure no rice is stuck on the bottom from time to time. Continue to cook the rice till it reaches your desired texture. Mine took about 40 minutes.

Add in chicken along with any leftover marinade. Spread out the chicken and use medium or medium low heat to slowly cooking through the meat. Be patient and wait till the chicken has been fully cooked-through. 

Taste and adjust with salt if needed. Sometimes it varies depending on the stock you're using. Once all checked, scoop and serve the congee.

If you have some cilantro, give it a few chops and add some on top of the congee for a fresh aroma pop. Or perhaps some additional white pepper powder fits more of your liking.

Other congee recipes:

• Dried anchovies and pea shoots congee 小魚乾大豆苗鹹粥
• Savoury Chinese congee using Jinhua ham and vegetables 金華火腿鹹味臘八粥
• Soy milk zosui
• Tomato bamboo shoot and pork zosui 番茄竹筍豬肉雜炊
• Minced beef and vegetable congee 蔬菜牛肉粥

Shio Koji Salmon Flakes 塩麹鮭フレーク

Have you ever seen jars of salmon flakes being sold at a Japanese supermarket? They are delicious and convenient ingredients to use as a rice topping or further made into rice balls, fried rice, or other dishes.

If you ever happen to have some salmon fillets on hand, maybe give it a try and turn them into flakes. The entire process is not hard at all, and you can easily get store-bought quality salmon flakes being made at home, all natural style too. 

Shio koji salmon flakes 塩麹鮭フレーク - 

Ingredients?

• 550 grams salmon fillets
• Some salt
• 2 tablespoons shio koji
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Japanese sake 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

How?

Personally I prefer to cook salmon without the skin unless it's like searing or frying. The choice is yours. Once decided to keep or remove the skin, sprinkle all sides with some salt and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. 

After that, wipe out excess liquid that has been drawn out by the salt. Have a pot of water ready and switch to medium heat. Add in the salmon when the water is still lukewarm. Keep cooking the fish using such medium heat till fully cooked-through.

Once cooked-through, remove the fish and set aside to let cool. When it's fine to handle the fish by hand, break the fish into medium chunks, also discard the skin too. Meanwhile, touch and feel the fish chunks, making sure there are no bones remain. Aim to pick out any bones inside if any. After all we are aiming to enjoy the fish "flakes" without worrying about getting pierced by it.

Have a pan ready. There is no need to drizzle any oil there. Just add in the salmon pieces along with 2 tablespoons of shio koji, 1 1/2 tablespoons Japanese sake, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of mirin.

Use medium heat to cook the salmon chunks. Mix and break the salmon into even smaller pieces. Continue to cook and break the salmon till some moisture has been removed and appear flaky. Mine took about 10 minutes.

Mix in about 1 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds towards the end. That's about it. You'll get salmon flakes that taste just as close as the store-bought version. And we even boosted up the flavor with the help of shio koji. 

Some people simply use the salmon flakes as a topping, more so like a side dish with rice. Sometimes I'd like to use it as the main protein ingredient for fried rice. 

These flakes are especially good when used in fried rice, paired with some chopped veggies and a touch of white pepper powder. If you can make the fried rice using basmati rice, the final result will make you even happier. 

Other salmon recipes:

• Miso crunch salad with seared salmon
• Soupy version simmered salmon and daikon in miso broth
• Salmon and dashi takikomi gohan using brown rice 炊き込みご飯
• Salmon and quinoa rice stuffed fried tofu pouches