Chinese Fish Congee Recipe 魚片粥
This Chinese Fish Congee Recipe 魚片粥 is a delicious and easy Asian comfort food that will take you back to your childhood. It take at minimum an hour to make the traditional way and so I share 4 hacks to reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes!
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 5 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8.8 oz cod fish (Substitute: any other white fish filet. The cooking time may vayr.)
- 2 knobs ginger
- 1 egg
- ½ Tablespoon cornstarch (Mixed with 1 Tablespoon water or chicken stock)
- ½ Tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ Tablespoon shaoxing wine
- ½ Tablespoon fish sauce (Substitute: light soy sauce)
- ¾ Cup white rice (You can use brown rice but the cooking time and amount of water required will increase.)
- 9 Cups water (Substitute: chicken broth (Omit the bouillon cubes if so.))
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- ½ teaspoon salt (To taste.)
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon white pepper (To taste. White pepper is very strong. If yours is very fresh, you can use less.)
Instructions
- 1
Gently rub the fish fillets with the cornstarch mixture, sesame oil, fish sauce, Shaoxing wine, and grated ginger.
- 2
Add the egg whites, making sure every piece of fish fillet is well-coated. Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge.
- 3
Step 1: Wash the rice 1-2 times, but not till the water runs clear, as we want the starch!
- 4
Step 2a: Only for experienced cooks not afraid of oil sizzle (If not, skip to the next step): over high or medium-high heat, heat oil till shimmering but not smoking. Add the sliced ginger and fry for a few seconds till fragrant. Add the rice grains and briefly stir fry. MAKE SURE THE RICE IS AS DRY AS POSSIBLE AS THE OIL WILL SPLATTER.Add the chicken stock or water and bring to the boil. Cover with a slight gap, reduce the heat so the congee is simmering and cook for at least 40 minutes.
- 5
Step 2b: Start here if afraid of oil splatter (which can hurt!): add the rice, chicken stock and ginger slices to the pot and bring to the boil. Cover at an angle so there's a small gap, then reduce the heat to low or medium low so that the pot is simmering.
- 6
Step 3: After about 30-40 minutes, take out the fish from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Note: We do not want to add cold fish to the pot as it won't taste as good.
- 7
After 15 minutes, taste the congee and season with extra salt, sesame oil or white pepper if needed.
- 8
Then bring the congee back to a full boil and add in the marinated fish slices. Stir till the fish is cooked through.
- 9
Switch off the fire and stir the egg yolk into the rice soup, if using. (The residual heat will cook the yolk.) Stir or whisk for a few more minutes to further break down the rice grains.
- 10
Serve the sliced fish congee in small individual bowls and garnish with Chinese crullers, spring onion and more ginger!