September 12, 2021
The arrival of September means the start of football season. We’ve been waiting anxiously for the start of football season after Michigan’s performance last year. So far, the first couple of games have resulted in wins. We are keeping our fingers crossed for the remainder of the season as we face other opponents in our conference. In between watching football games, Kev and I have been doing some pre-fall cleaning in our home. We have some major changes coming up in the near future and needed to prioritize cleaning our home. It always seems a lot easier to accumulate stuff than to toss stuff out. I have to confess I have such a hard time tossing out (and donating) old clothes. During these busier days ahead, I’ve been turning to a dish I make a lot of on busy days, congee. Mushroom congee slow cooked and served with carrot scallion pancakes to be exact. Congee is something both Kev and I ate a lot of growing up even though we both grew up on opposite sides of the world. Kev grew up eating the variations of congee offered in the many shops available throughout Hong Kong. I grew up eating many versions of congee made by my family and influenced by the shops available throughout New York City. My grandparents and parents made congee almost weekly for me throughout my childhood and teenage years. Our household favorite version of congee is usually thousand-year egg and salted pork congee topped with roasted peanuts. It is one of the more popular versions of congee sold at shops throughout New York City’s Chinatown. This version of congee is very nostalgic for me and often reminds me of the childhood memories I had of my grandparents. These days, I often turn to simpler versions of congee as a way to save time. One of my go-to versions of congee is a variation of congee using dong gu (a.k.a. dried shiitake mushroom). I love cooking with dried shiitake mushrooms because of the deep, savory flavor imparted by the dried mushrooms into dishes. All I need to do is to toss in a handful of reconstituted dried whole mushrooms into a pot of congee and let it cook low and slow until ready to serve. With the addition of the dried mushrooms and some kosher salt, I get a delicious, savory pot of congee. Depending on my mood, I may or may not top my congee with even more toppings such as hard-boiled eggs, shredded chicken, diced char siu, chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, and a drizzle of my grandfather’s favorite oil and sauces – sesame oil, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. He swears by the trio of oil and sauces when serving up congee since they add depth and intensity of flavor to any bowl of congee. If I’m short on time, I usually just toss the ingredients into a slow cooker and let the slow cooker do all of the work for the congee overnight for an easy (set it and forget it) version of congee. On weekends, when I have more time to cook, I tend to cook the congee low and slow over a stovetop. This method does require more care as I need to stir the congee over the stovetop occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot. There is no other comfort food in our household like a bowl of warm congee topped with my grandfather’s trio of oil and sauces to help warm the soul. Making this dish always brings back heartwarming memories of the endless variations of congees my family used to make for me growing up. My family usually serves up congee with a heavy helping of you tiao, a type of Chinese fried dough usually in the form of sticks. We would dip the you tiao into our bowls of congee and eat the congee soaked you tiao for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I prefer serving some form of savory pancakes with my congee. My latest addiction to serve with congee is carrot scallion pancakes. These savory pancakes make for a super easy, savory, crispy, and addicting side to serve with a warming bowl of congee.
For the dried mushroom congee:
· 5 dried whole shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted in water an hour before cooking
· ½ cup jasmine rice, rinsed
· 6 cups of water, plus more as needed for cooking congee
· kosher salt, to taste
For serving with the mushroom congee:
· 2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half (optional)
· char siu, diced (optional)
· 2 stalks scallions, thinly sliced
· fresh cilantro, finely chopped
· sesame oil
· soy sauce
· oyster sauce
· carrot scallion pancakes*
Directions:
1) Prep all of the ingredients for the congee. When ready to cook the congee, stir together the reconstituted mushrooms, jasmine rice, and water in a large pot set over medium low heat. Add in the water. The rice will begin to break down as it cooks in the water and will eventually turn into congee. Continue cooking the congee uncovered over medium low heat for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent the congee from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Season the congee with kosher salt to taste. Add additional water as needed to help loosen the congee as it cooks.
2) When ready to serve, scoop out the whole mushrooms and slice them into thin slices. Divide the congee into two large bowls. Prepare any optional topping ingredients (hardboiled eggs and diced char siu). Sprinkle on the sliced scallions and chopped fresh cilantro. Drizzle on the sesame oil, soy sauce, and oyster sauce right before serving.
As an optional step, prepare some carrot scallion pancakes* to serve with the congee.
*Carrot scallion pancakes are essentially a variation on my sesame scallion pancakes. To make them, I peel and shred a whole carrot and folded the shredded carrot directly into the dough for the scallion pancakes in addition to sprinkling in scallions. The rest of the steps for making the savory pancakes are the same as those instructions for my sesame scallion pancakes.
Takeaways: The congee does tend to stick to the bottom of the pot as it cooks. Stirring the congee consistently is key to keeping the congee from sticking to the bottom of the pot. My family often serves congee with you tiao, a type of Chinese fried dough. I prefer to serve my congee with another type of fried dough, savory carrot scallion pancakes. Check out my food section for some inspo on variations of scallion pancakes to serve alongside the congee.