Gourmet Crab Congee

Gourmet Crab Congee

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.