Dried Oyster and Scallop Congee

AmandaInOz's Note:

Congee is a type of rice porridge eaten in many Asian countries. This recipe is Chinese. It's easiest made in a rice cooker, but a pot will do as well. On a personal note: congee is also a popular late night eat here in Sydney's Chinatown. From: wedbee.blogspot.com.

• Total Time: 4 hrs
• Prep Time: 3 hrs
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 2

• 1 cup medium grain rice, soaked for 30 minutes
• 12 cups water
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 carrot, diced
• 4 large dried oysters, pre-soaked
• 4 large dried scallops, pre-soaked
• 2 spring onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Soaked dried oysters and scallops in cold water separately for at least 2 hours to soften them. Retain the soaking liquid. Shred the scallops, and cut oysters into small pieces.
2. Peel carrot and dice into 0.5cm cubes.
3. Wash and rinse the rice several times. Place rice in a pot, add water and seafood liquid (used to soak the dried seafood), and bring to a boil.
4. Add oysters, carrots and 1 tsp oil.
5. Let the congee boil, then lower heat to let it bubble for 20 minutes.
6. Add the shredded scallops, and let congee simmer for 20-30 minutes. Do stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking the bottom of the pot.
7. Turn heat off, and serve garnished with spring onion.

Reviews

[Rinshinomori]

This is fabulous! I could not find dried oysters, but did have dried scallops. Also to boost the taste, I soaked mixed dried mushrooms and dried Japanese squid normally eaten as snacks and used them in place of dried oysters. Used also thinly julienned carrots instead of small dice. In the west with limited access to Asian ingredients, you can add anything to congee - such as leftover meat, chicken, seafood, beef jerky, etc instead of dried scallops/oysters. I really enjoyed this congee very much. What a wonderful taste! Thank you Amanda for posting this recipe. Made for Asian forums's unrated Asian recipe tag game.