Congee or porridge is a healty food for Chinese. We like to start our day off with a  hot bowl of congee for breakfast. A plain congee works well with fried dough (油条 you tiao) and others Chinese pickled dish.

In this post I am going to combine Chinese porridge with a Japanese style bonito flakes broth. And we go a bit luxurious rather than having a simple plain congee, by using Crabs as main ingredients.

Look at the picture, mouth-watering Japanese-Chinese combination with wonderful aroma from the sea. YUM

Check out the ingredients and TRY this gourmet dish at your own kitchen!! 

Ingredients :
2 cups rice.
2 crabs.
1 cup cold water, for soak rice.
1 stalk of coriander leaf, chopped for garnish.
1 spring onion, chopped for garnish.
Pepper to taste.
Low sodium soy sauce to taste.

Seasoning:
1 tsp fine salt.
1 cup Japanese rice wine.
1 tsp MSG.
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce.

For Bonito Flakes Broth:
2 litre water.
60g bonito flakes.
40g dried kelp (konbu), soak until soft.
30g ginger, crashed.

Preparations:

To prepare bonito flakes broth

Bring the water to a boill in a saucepan, pour in bonito flakes, kelp and ginger. Stop the heat immediately.
Filter off any foam and allow the bonito flakes to settle on the bottom of the pan. Strain the broth through a fine sieve paper towel. Remove from the heat.

Clean crab with a brush. Remove shell and inner organs. Chop off legs and cut the crab into 4 pieces.
Soak the rice in a saucepan with 1 cup of cold water overnight or at least 1 hour to get a softer and fluffier texture of rice.
Heat the saucepan, add prepared bonito flakes broth and bring to a boil. Add the crabs and reduce to low heat.
Continue to simmer until the rice break, thick and smooth.
Return to a boil over high heat and add all seasoning to taste. Remove from heat.
Ladle the porridge into a bowl, garnish with coriander, spring onion and pepper before dish out.

I remember a chef in Yokohama Chinese Town restaurant told me on my last visit to Japan, said the most important point to cook chicken porridge is the chicken soup stock and control of heat. You need to get the chicken soup stock simmer for at least an hour with the chicken bone. Secondly, after the first boiling stage, just reduce to low heat and simmer them for at least 30 minutes.
Ya, with recalling the tips, I managed to cook my version with additional scallop’s yummy taste mixed in the hot chicken congee.

Try this out!Chicken Porridge

Chicken Porridge

Ingredients: ( 4 servings)

1 rice bowl measure of rice
1/2 chicken
2 liters water
2 dried scallop
2 tbsp soy sauce
salt to taste

1 clove ginger, thinly shredded
1 stalk coriander leaves (Chinese parsley)
2 spring onion chopped
drops of sesame oil
pepper to taste

Preparations:

Bring water to boil in a pot and put the chicken (boned) and cook for 10 ~ 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and tender. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Debone and shred the chicken.
Add rice in the pot with the remaining chicken stock. Pour the dried scallop and bring to boil. Reduce to low heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes or until the rice grains break open. Stir occasionally and add some water if needed. Pour a pinch of salt, soy sauce to taste and stir well. Turn of the heat and transfer to a serving bowl. Top the shredded chicken and granish ginger slices, spring onion, coriander leaves and few drops of sesame oil. Serve immediately.

Like other Asian countries, rice is the staple food in Japan. However, in Japan, rice is not only essential food, but it is considered a refined art of dining. It has long been the mark of fine living. The Japanese takes their rice very seriously as an essential part of their refined culture. The rice that is grown in Japan is the short-grain type of rice, known as Japonica. Stickiness and glossy texture is characteristic of Japanese rice.

Japonica rice is recognized by its starchy ingredient. Rice that we consume daily is called “uruchi-gome” (ordinary rice) which is not as sticky as “mochigome” (sweet, glutinous rice). Mochigome is used for making the Japanese rice cake, called “mochi”, and red bean rice, known as “seki-han”, which is savoured during every celebration. There are 2 kinds of starchy contents in the rice, which are known scientifically as amylose and amylopectin. The ordinary rice, uruchi-gome, has about 20% amylose and 80% amylopectin, whereas, the sticky rice, mochigome, has 100% amylopectin. The stickiness of mochigome is due to the large ratio of amylopectin.

In Japan, rice is packed and sold in two varieties, which are the branded rice and the blended rice. Branded rice is rice that only consist of one variety, for example, “koshihikari”, “akitakomachi” and “hitomebore”. Blended rice is literally rice that is blended with more than one variety. The famous “suishomai” is one of the types of blended rice.

Today, over 300 varieties of rice are cultivated throughout Japan. Depending on each district’s climate and environment, improvement of breed is a continuing task to cultivate and produce the best rice variety. Research is focused not only on improving its taste, but also on increasing the health benefits of the Japanese rice towards strengthening the immune system to prevent illnesses such as the common cold.

Sushi is a well-known dish outside Japan and a superb Japanese rice cuisine. With the combination of sushi vinegar, sugar and salt mixed together into Japanese rice, it creates an amazingly unique taste of vinegar rice. There are many different types of sushi to whet your appetite.

Japanese rice is the embodiment of the art of perfection, from cultivation right up to the culinary servings and the fine art of eating.