November 19, 2012

Slow cooker congee (xi- fan\)

For the 1.5qt oval Proctor Silex slow cooker that I have.

Ingredients:
  • Ratio of rice to water should be 1:7 
  • ¼-⅓ cup short grain Asian rice (Japanese or Korean brands are best) (¼ cup of rice is about right for a single serving, ⅓ cup is good for a generous single serving) 
  • 1.75-2.33 cups water
Wash rice and then add water into slow cooker insert. Cook overnight for about 7 hours (longer is ok too but the back started to scorch a little bit at 9 hours, best to put it in before going to bed and ask Dan to turn to warm when he gets up).

Serve with the usual congee toppings: dried pork shavings, sliced preserved duck egg, pickled cucumbers, maybe some vegetables. This makes enough for 2 breakfasts but doesn't really keep that well (the rice just keeps soaking up the liquid and it sort of...congeals).

Other variations to try: adding in chopper ginger (stronger if added later), using broth instead of water, scallions/sesame oil as garnish. I tried using beef broth but was not a fan.

Recipe with great photos: http://userealbutter.com/2012/01/09/chinese-chicken-congee-recipe/