This Chinese Fish Congee Recipe 魚片粥 is a delicious and easy Asian comfort food that will take you back to your childhood. It take at minimum an hour to make the traditional way and so I share 4 hacks to reduce the cooking time to 20 minutes!
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
1.
What is Congee?
It seems a little silly to explain Rice Congee 粥 since you're looking for a Congee recipe. However, just in case, it's the ultimate Asian comfort food, made from rice.
Plain congee is very easy to digest so most Asians grew up eating it whenever they're sick. Asian countries all have their own version, but Cantonese congee is one of the most famous for its silky and creamy texture.
🥘 Ingredients
You will only need a few simple ingredients for this fish porridge:
- white rice: I make this with long grain rice (jasmine rice is traditional) but some people like to use short-grain rice, such as sushi rice, as it's starchier and the rice grain will break down more easily. You can also use brown rice, to be healthier, but you will need to cook the fish rice porridge for longer and it won't have the characteristic silky texture.
- thin cod fish fillets: you can also use other white fish fillets such as sole, tilapia, flounder, sea bass and halibut, or even salmon. Remove any bones and dry the fillets before marinating. (Drier fish absorbs the sauces better.) You can cut them up if you want- slice at an angle- but I find they flake apart once stirred through the hot congee (so I don't cut them.) Fresh and frozen fish both work. If you don't have time to thaw your fish, you can add the frozen fish to the simmering congee but the https://www.greedygirlgourmet.com/asian-herbs/cooking time will extend and the fish texture will suffer.
- ginger: this is an essential Asian herb when cooking porridge, especially pork congee, chicken congee or seafood porridge, to remove any weird smells. Do not be shy with the ginger! I use 2 huge thumbs of it!
- corn starch: mix with water or chicken stock.
- shaoxing wine: this is to help cover any fish flavors the fish may have
- sesame oil
- fish sauce: this is to give the fish some flavor. I like fish sauce because of my Southeast Asian roots, but you can also use light soy sauce which is more traditional in Chinese recipes
- egg: separate into white and yolk. The white is used to marinate the fish. You can use the yolks for baking cookies or stir it into the congee at the end of the cooking process
- chicken stock: You can use a chicken bouillon cube dissolved in water or homemade chicken broth or stock. (Chicken stock powder actually has a more authentically Asian flavor than a stock cube, so use that if you can get it from the Asian super market or online.) The amount I specified is a guideline. Use more if you want a thinner congee or less if you want a thicker one. (Alternatively, cook for longer if you accidentally added too much liquid.) For a pure seafood flavor, use seafood or fish stock instead. If you have pork or chicken bones on hand, you can add them to the pot of rice too.
- salt: season to taste, as different brands of fish sauce have different levels of saltiness.
- ground white pepper
For garnishing: I highly recommend julienned ginger, thin slices of green onions or 1 of these congee toppings. To make a more substantial meal, pair with rice porridge side dishes such as salted egg.
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- For a heartier dish, substitute the fish for minced pork to make pork porridge (For best results, click through and use the seasoning ratio specified.)
- Use peeled prawns instead for shrimp porridge
- Add sliced abalone for canned abalone congee
- Skip the marinade, add leftover roast meat and make leftover roast turkey congee (Also taste before adding any seasoning as the roast meat may be pretty salty!)
- Add fresh and dried scallops for scallop rice porridge
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. Gently rub the fish fillets with the cornstarch mixture, sesame oil, fish sauce, Shaoxing wine, and grated ginger. Add the egg whites, making sure every piece of fish fillet is well-coated. Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge.
1b. Wash the rice 1-2 times, but not till the water runs clear, as we want the starch! (The 1st round of rice washing water can be used for watering plants and the 2nd round for cooking Korean jjigae.)
Only for experienced cooks NOT AFRAID OF OIL SPLATTER (If not skip down to Photo 3): over high or medium-high heat, heat oil till shimmering but not smoking. Add the sliced ginger and fry for a few seconds till fragrant.
2a. Add the rice grains and briefly stir fry.
MAKE SURE THE RICE IS AS DRY AS POSSIBLE AS THE OIL WILL SPLATTER LIKE CRAZY.
2b. Add the chicken stock or water and bring to the boil.
2c. Cover with a slight gap, reduce the heat so the congee is simmering and cook for at least 30-40 minutes.
3a. START HERE IF NOT AN EXPERIENCED CHINESE COOK (Oil splatter CAN HURT): add the rice, chicken stock and ginger slices to the pot and bring to the boil.
3b. Cover at an angle so there's a small gap, then reduce the heat to low or medium low so that the pot is simmering.
4a. After about 30-40 minutes, take out the fish from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature. This will take about 15-20 minutes. (We do not want to add cold fish to the pot.)
4b. After 15 minutes, taste the rice porridge and season with extra salt, sesame oil or white pepper if needed.
4c. Then bring the congee back to a full boil and add in the marinated fish slices.
5. Stir till the fish is cooked through, keeping the porridge at a simmer and not boiling. (Reduce the heat if necessary.)
6a. Switch off the fire and stir the egg yolk into the rice soup, if using. (The residual heat will cook the yolk.)
6b. Stir or whisk for a few more minutes to further break down the rice grains.
Serve the sliced fish congee in small individual bowls and garnish with Chinese crullers, spring onion and more ginger!
Tip: For extra silky fish, bring the congee to the boil, then switch off the fire right before adding the fish. You will need to slice the fresh or fully thawed fish thinly and the residual heat will cook the pieces in 4-5 minutes. Make sure the fish is cooked before you eat!
🥡 How to Store
Growing up, I was told never to keep congee overnight.
If you make too much, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 day.
Reheating
Re-heat by bringing back to the boil in a pot. Your congee will become thicker, so I suggest adding half a cup of water to it before reheating.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips to Reduce Cooking Time
Congee traditionally takes hours of cooking and stirring to get the silky, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth consistency. We don't all have hours to spend in the kitchen so here are some time-saving tips!
Tip #1: You can also make fish congee in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot. The rice grains will be soft, but they won't be quite as creamy as cooking on a stovetop. For the Instant Pot, cook at high pressure for 15-20 minutes, turn on the Saute function, add the fish and cook till the fish is, well, cooked!
Tip #2: Wash and soak the rice for at least 30 minutes then freeze it for at least 1 night. (You can also freeze it for longer.) Making congee from frozen rice reduces the cooking time to about 20 minutes as the grains will break down more quickly.
Tip #3: At the end of cooking, stir or whisk the congee well to help the grains break down further.
🥗 Other Congee Recipes
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Chinese Fish Congee Recipe 魚片粥
Equipment
- Grater For the ginger
- Large Pot with lid
Ingredients
- 8.8 oz cod fish Substitute: any other white fish filet. The cooking time may vayr.
- 2 knobs ginger Each 1 inch thick. We want a lot of ginger for fish porridge. 1 knob is for grating to marinate the fish and 1 knob will be sliced to cook with the rice.
- 1 egg separated in yolk and white. The white is for marinating. The yolk can be kept for baking or stirred into the porridge at the end.
- ½ Tablespoon cornstarch Mixed with 1 Tablespoon water or chicken stock
- ½ Tablespoon sesame oil
- ½ Tablespoon shaoxing wine
- ½ Tablespoon fish sauce Substitute: light soy sauce
- ¾ Cup white rice You can use brown rice but the cooking time and amount of water required will increase.
- 9 Cups water Substitute: chicken broth (Omit the bouillon cubes if so.)
- 2 chicken stock cubes
- ½ teaspoon salt To taste.
- ⅛-¼ teaspoon white pepper To taste. White pepper is very strong. If yours is very fresh, you can use less.
Instructions
Marinate the Fish
- Gently rub the fish fillets with the cornstarch mixture, sesame oil, fish sauce, Shaoxing wine, and grated ginger.
- Add the egg whites, making sure every piece of fish fillet is well-coated. Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge.
Cook the Congee
- Step 1: Wash the rice 1-2 times, but not till the water runs clear, as we want the starch!
- Step 2a: Only for experienced cooks not afraid of oil sizzle (If not, skip to the next step): over high or medium-high heat, heat oil till shimmering but not smoking. Add the sliced ginger and fry for a few seconds till fragrant. Add the rice grains and briefly stir fry. MAKE SURE THE RICE IS AS DRY AS POSSIBLE AS THE OIL WILL SPLATTER.Add the chicken stock or water and bring to the boil. Cover with a slight gap, reduce the heat so the congee is simmering and cook for at least 40 minutes.
- Step 2b: Start here if afraid of oil splatter (which can hurt!): add the rice, chicken stock and ginger slices to the pot and bring to the boil. Cover at an angle so there's a small gap, then reduce the heat to low or medium low so that the pot is simmering.
- Step 3: After about 30-40 minutes, take out the fish from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Note: We do not want to add cold fish to the pot as it won't taste as good.
- After 15 minutes, taste the congee and season with extra salt, sesame oil or white pepper if needed.
- Then bring the congee back to a full boil and add in the marinated fish slices. Stir till the fish is cooked through.
- Switch off the fire and stir the egg yolk into the rice soup, if using. (The residual heat will cook the yolk.) Stir or whisk for a few more minutes to further break down the rice grains.
- Serve the sliced fish congee in small individual bowls and garnish with Chinese crullers, spring onion and more ginger!
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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