Guide to making sumptuous seafood porridge, with top ingredients from Teck Sang including Baby Abalones, Dried Oysters and dried scallops.
When is a good time for Dried Seafood Porridge?
Dried Seafood Porridge is a comfort food that a very popular throughout Asia. It's no secret that dried seafood is one of the healthiest and tastiest types of comfort food. So if you're looking for a way to incorporate these exquisite tastes into your diet, look no further, this sumptuous dried congee is a perfect way.
Adding ingredients such as dried scallops, chicken and oysters make this abalone congee deliciously hearty serving that will leave you feeling satisfied and blissful.
Guide to making dried seafood (Dried Scallop, baby abalone, dried oyster) congee
This is a guide for making dried seafood porridge, with top ingredients from Teck sang including (全家福) Chuen Jia Fu baby canned abalone, dried oyster, scallops and chicken. All of these ingredients are easily found in most supermarkets or Asian grocery stores. For simplicity, it can be made with a modern rice cooker that will do the job in about 30 minutes.
Let's start
- Wash the dried oysters and scallops before soaking them overnight. Kept the water to cook rice the next day.
- Porridge (Congee) is made by boiling water on high heat until it boils then adding cold water to the boiling water and rice, cooking the mixture for about 10-15 minutes or until it has a nice thick texture. With a Modern rice cooker, the selection of Congee option does it all.
- It's very simple to make because my grandma taught me how to do this.
Buying the ingredients:
There are many different dried seafood on the market, but they can be difficult to find and sometimes expensive. Here is a guide for making sumptuous dried seafood porridge at home with only a few ingredients. It is quite an experience to talk to the retail sales Aunties relating to the various selections down in our Teck Sang Retail on Hong Kong Street. They always have the latest advice and quality options for the seasons' stories to share.
First, we have our main ingredients:
We will be using 45g of dried scallops and 70g of dried oysters and a canned Chuen Jia Fu Baby abalone. Lots of choices of packaging down at Teck sang retail, alternatively, shop online at their online stall at http//www.Tecksangonline.com
HOW TO SELECT DRIED SCALLOPS
Dried scallops are a popular ingredient that can be used to add umami flavour to a dish. They have been called 乾貝 (traditional) 干贝 (simplified) in Chinese, and they often come from the waters off China. In addition, you'll find dried scallops at Teck Sang on Hong Kong Street.
There is a variety of different types of dried scallops available for you to purchase in the markets, including the larger, more expensive ones that have a light brown colour.
Teck Sang offers a wide range of dried seafood at an affordable price. Dried scallops are available in various types and sizes, which you can use according to your preference of enjoyment that you're desire.
Some common types include traditional Scallop (jiang yao zhu, 江瑤柱) from Japan or simplified from China. The cost is higher for larger scallops than smaller ones, but they have an even light brown colour.
Scallops add umami flavour to any dish, and it's worth the investment because of its high quality brings out.
HOW TO STORE THE Dried SCALLOPS and Oysters
Dried scallops and Oysters are reasonably stable even stalled at room temperature. It is a good practice to stall them in sealed containers inside the refrigerator, that can easily be kept for 4-6 months. When you need to use them, just take the quantity required. Wash them and they will be ready for you.
How simple is the Cooking process
About 3 hours before cooking them, wash them and soak them in water to allow them to soften and release flavours. Keep the soaking liquids - which contain a lot of flavour after so many hours - for later addition into your porridge as they will be needed at that time. This step must not be skipped because it's necessary for the drying process with these products; otherwise, you'll end up with tough outer shells on ultimately chewy inner parts (and potentially give yourself food poisoning). At the same time prepare about 1 cup of rice for about 4 people's consumption
Porridge is a great food that can be eaten for breakfast
Porridge at breakfast or as a side dish to bring to potlucks. It's super easy and quick, which makes it perfect for busy people! I'm going to show you how to Add some salt and oil into the porridge before cooking it first so the texture comes out silkier when cooked later on. Next, prepare your chicken (around 200g). Then we'll talk about removing tendons from the meat before adding them in with everything else - this will make your meal easier than ever.
- First, look for the white strip inside the meat.
- Then, make a shallow incision into the meat and pull the thicker end of the tendon.
- Using a sharp knife, slice between or under both layers of muscle to separate them from each other.
- Next, use your fingers to press out any remaining liquid before seasoning it with whatever you desire
A flavorful rub that will make the chicken silkier and improve its texture.
Chinese Wine to do its magic
Next, we add 1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine. We add this to remove any gamey smells coming from the chicken. Following that, we add 1 tsp of sesame oil. This will make the chicken and the porridge more fragrant and it makes it slightly smokey for a better-tasting end result as well as garnishing purposes at the end of our cooking process.
Lastly, chop up some spring onions finely before adding them in with all seasonings to bring out another depth in flavour for your dish later on during preparation time). It is also important not to mix everything together until no solid pieces are visible but rather keep these separate so they don't quickly brown or burn throughout processing time (for example: set aside raw diced ginger and minced garlic in separate bowls, set aside diced onion and chicken in separate dishes).
The Big mix
Mix all the seasonings well until they are unable to be seen. Set aside your raw ingredients for later use (for example We chop up our spring onions and add them into the mixture when it's time to put it back on.)
While we are cutting up the spring onions, I would like to ask everyone what foods they miss from home. Share it with me in the comments down below. With that, let's get cooking!
Let get the Congee going
First, add water to the prepared rice and let it reach a boil once it starts boiling. Once that happens, add soaked dried scallops and dried oysters into boiling water (remember: these should be full of flavour after 3 hours' soaking). Stir everything well before turning on high heat and letting the cooking liquid boil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until all ingredient is cooked through; strain before serving
Once the water has started boiling, you have to watch out for the scum forming on the surface of it. This is coming both from dried seafood and rice. Constantly remove it by stirring or pouring off liquid so that you are removing it a few times during this whole cooking process. At the same time, occasionally stir your food to prevent sticking and charring at bottom of the pan if they happen which will be tough washing later on if that happens just let them boil away for around 15 minutes after all their starch has been released into the mixture
Let the water boil off until this point (where you can see bubbles popping on the surface)
Consistency Matters to Mouth Texture
iF The consistency of the liquid is too watery. We'll need to add some more water and let it boil again. At this point, we're aiming for a porridge that can coat the back of the spoon nicely when dipped into it. It's difficult to give a timing as stove heat or type of pot will change how long it takes so be sure to check on your porridge often if you are doing this by yourself!
Final touches: Slurp!
If you want to make the porridge thicker, turn off the stove and let it sit covered for a bit. This will mush-ify the rice a bit more and release the starchy stuff that makes it goopy. The dried scallops should have been pulled apart by now and evenly dispersed in the congee. The dried scallops give the otherwise boring porridge some chewy bits with lots of flavours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make Chinese seafood soup based with shrimp, baby abalone and scallops?
Shrimp heads and shells are natural falvour stock ingredients. Empty the fluid from the canned abalone with the shrimp shells. Add two more cans of water and bring it to a full boil. Reduce to a simmering and then add the Dried Scallops together for another 15 minutes on low heat. Now you have your basic stock for your congee.
What's the best way to store unfinished Congee?
The congee is best consumer fresh and prepared just enough to enjoy the taste of the seafood. The leftover can be stored in the refrigerator and reheat again the next day. Ideally, reheat in the copper pot and not microwave as this might toughen the scallop and Abalone.
Can I get all these Top Ingredients from Teck Sang?
Absolutely, Teck Sang is located on 10-11 Hong Kong Street, Singapore 059654. Tel: 6532-2082. Alternatively shop with us online on https://www.tecksangonline.com/
Looking forward to serving you.
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