400g steamed rice (day-old preferred), 40g dried plaice, 120g ground pork, 40g dried shiitake mushrooms, 40g Chinese celery, 1 stalk of coriander, some spring onion, 2 cups of chicken stock, 1 cup of oil, 1 cup of water.
SEASONING:
(1) 1/4t sugar, 1/5t potato starch, 1/2t sesame oil, 1/2t light soy sauce, 1/5t dark soy sauce, some ground white pepper, 1t rice wine.
(2) 2/3t salt, some ground white pepper.
PREPARATION :
1. Peel, rinse and cut dried plaice into squarish pieces.
2. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms in water until soft, remove, and drain; Cut off stems; Dice.
3. Rinse and marinate ground pork in seasoning (1) for 15 minutes.
4. Rinse and dice Chinese celery; Rinse and chop coriander finely; Rinse and dice spring onion.
5. Heat a wok with 1 cup of oil over a high heat; Deep-fry dried plaice till crispy; Remove and drain.
6. Set aside the oil; Add 2 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of water to the wok; Bring to the boil over a high heat; Add steamed rice, the dried plaice, the ground pork, the diced mushrooms and seasoning (2); Cook over a high heat for 2 minutes; Remove.
7. Sprinkle with diced Chinese celery, chopped coriander and diced spring onion; Stir well. Ready to serve.
COOKING TIPS:
1. It is recommended to use long grain rice for Chiuchow congree.
2. Quality dried plaice should be large in size and has strong aroma.
3. Chiuchow-styled congee differs from Cantonesed-styled one in terms of the congee base. Chiuchow-styled congee uses pre-cooked rice, which makes it taste more like a soup rice.
