And It All Becomes More Real.....

Creamy Congee In Thermal Pot

So I have been saying I want to learn how to make the best congee for the longest time. Think thick, savoury, Cantonese restaurant worthy stuff. Problem was that I was a) lazy to start figuring it out since such things require trial and error and b) not really craving for congee enough to try.

Anyway about 2 weeks ago I finally decided to get down to making that pot of congee. First, I scoured YouTube and Google to try and figure out the basics of congee making. Then I read as many recipes as I could online. There were so many methods, some people even blended the uncooked rice grains in a food processor to maximise the starch content of the congee and shorten the stirring time.

Finally, I came up with my own recipe that suited me best. Namely, something that was tasty and thick but which required as little effort and time as possible to make. Also, it could be made using a thermal pot which will allow me to leave the congee to cook while I went about my daily business. I certainly did not want to spend my day slaving over a hot stove stirring congee ala the traditional method.

Guess what, I am proud to say that my first time making congee was a roaring success! Yes I unabashedly claim that because every last bit was slurped up at the dinner table to appreciative sounds of happiness. So here goes, my recipe for Cantonese style congee made in a thermal pot. Its super easy and idiot-proof.

Chicken Congee 
(makes about 3 portions)

1. 3/4 cup Calrose rice 

I use Calrose but any short-grain rice will do. This is important, short grain rice breaks down easily. More starch = More gooey, silky goodness

2. 2 cups chicken stock + approx 3 cups water

I always have homemade chicken stock stored away in the freezer for occasions like this but feel free to use store bought stock. I just find the store stuff abit too intense in flavour for my liking so I don't really like to use it anymore.

3. 2 chicken drumsticks, deboned and meat chopped up into bite-sized pieces. Save the bones.

4. A generous knob of ginger, almost thumb sized, chopped into thin slices

5. 3 dried scallops, soaked in hot water and peeled into strips. Save the liquid that you soaked the scallops in.

Method:

- Wash and rinse rice in thermal pot
- Drizzle some cooking oil and about 1tsp of salt and proceed to coat rice grains with mixture. This is supposed to aid in making your congee silky and smooth.
- Then add chicken stock and water so that the height of the liquid is approx 3x the height of the rice. Adjust qty of water accordingly to reach this.

- Start to boil the mixture on the stove, let it reach a vigorous boil

- Stir occasionally so the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pot, let it boil vigorously for about 5mins.

- Add chicken, chicken bones, ginger slices, dried scallops and the liquid that you saved

- Boil vigorously again, stirring occasionally for another 5mins.

- Switch off the stove, cover the pot and transfer to outer pot. 

- Go about your daily life, you can leave it in there till you are ready to serve the congee but min time needed for cooking is an hr. I usually leave it in there for abt 2-3hrs.

When ready to serve,

- Remove inner pot and place on stove again. Do not panic when you see that ALL the liquid has been soaked up and your congee looks like nothing but a moist glob of rice.

- Add enough water to reach just above the height of the rice glob and switch on your  stove. Start stirring continously.

- Now, its just a matter of adding enough water to reach your desired thickness. I love my congee thick so I don't add much but its all a matter of personal preference.

- Keep stirring so the congee at the bottom of the pot does not burn.

- Discard chicken bones (I prefer to keep them aside to chew on) and serve with garnishing of choice. Mine was spring onions and fried shallots.

** This tastes tons better when you keep it to the next day. Haha....just saying...

A Trio Of Grilled Peppers

Getting ready for grill!

I'd always wanted to make my own grilled peppers. Before I got pregnant, we used to have salads every night and I'd often think of how great it would be if I had some grilled peppers to throw in my salad. However, I was never able to bring myself to buy those in the supermarkets because they are soooo overpriced!

I knew they were easy to make but I guess laziness got the better of me till recently. I've been making my own grilled peppers since this first attempt and never looked back! This version comes steeped in a balsamic vinaigrette mixture which is why I love it so much. The bite from the balsamic vinegar and garlic dressing really complements the sweetness of the peppers and I just can't get enough!

*On hindsight I should not have chosen the green pepper, it didn't have much juice in it and ended up just being super dry and not fun to peel at all.

How To Make Your Own Grilled Peppers 

Keep these in the fridge and they
are ready to serve whenever
you want them!

  1. Grill peppers in oven at 250 deg C for about 30mins or

      until skin is black and charred

  2. Place peppers in a bowl and clingwrap it, wait till it is  

      cool enough to handle with  your hands

  3. Carefully peel back all the blackened skin and discard

  4. Chop them up whichever way you like it, I did mine 

      lengthwise

  5. Prepare equal parts mixture of balsamic vinegar and 

      olive oil (or according to your own taste). I used 

      approximately 5 tablespoons of each, that was roughly 

      enough for me to fill up my glass bottle after adding 

      the peppers in.

  6. Add salt to taste and chop up about 1-2 cloves of 

     garlic, throw them into the mixture

  7. Toss peppers in mixture, making sure they are well 

     coated

  8. Pop everything into a glass container and keep 

      refrigerated.

Butter Rolls

I love butter and although I am not a major fan of bread, I make an exception for soft fluffy rolls. So, I couldn't resist the urge to try my hand at making Butter Rolls some time back when I happened to see the recipe online.

These bread rolls with a butter pocket in the middle and topped with a yummy butter glaze did not require much fuss and were both cheap and easy to make! They turned out better than I expected. I fretted a little about them not rising but they did rise beautifully and you can check them out the photos below.

Butter and sugar mixture
Dough balls ready to be
shaped and filled

Just before applying glaze and rising

Puffing up beautifully after leaving the rolls in a warm oven for half an hour

Voila! Butter Rolls!