If you have not read or tried our 20-Minute Congee, you’re in for a treat to learn this incredible and unique cooking technique, this time with fish and refreshing greens.
For many purists and traditionalists, the idea of a 20-Minute Fish Congee sounds completely impossible. Rather than convince you, this is a recipe you have to try to truly comprehend.
Our Recipe for 20-Minute Congee – with some new updates!
It might sound like an exaggeration, but for any home cook who has spent hours standing over a congee pot, you need to try this method just to experience the thrill.
The basic process is to soak the rice, freeze it overnight, then cook it until it’s thickened (about 20 minutes). (The traditional method of starting with raw rice takes at least 90 minutes!)
After publishing my classic pork and preserved egg congee recipe, our readers came in with some excellent insights. For this recipe, I’ve heeded one reader’s advice to briefly soak the rice (rather than just rinsing it) before freezing to further shorten the cooking time.
Doing this step helps thicken the congee in an even shorter amount of time. It’s really like magic.
With a bag of frozen rice in the freezer on standby, you’re never more than minutes away from a pot of yummy congee.
Great for Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch
Congee is a great breakfast food in particular, as it’s popular at dim sum restaurants and Chinatown noodle soup spots. It’s warm, filling, and easy to digest. It’s also a great starter food for babies.
What Fish to Use
Buy what’s available, but any flaky, white, less oily fish is great to use in this fish congee.
I used flounder fillet, and sliced them into relatively large pieces to ensure they didn’t accidentally dissolve in the thick congee once they were cooked.
The Congee Debate: Thick or Thin
There’s a longstanding debate in our family on whether thick or thin congee is right. Bill likes a thicker congee, as most Cantonese folks do, while I prefer a thinner congee that is not too viscous. I grew up with a thin rice porridge called pao fan, and I will defend the merits of thinner congee until I’m red in the face!
As for Sarah and Kaitlin, perhaps it’s not surprising they won’t say one way or another where their allegiances lie…
For your purposes, 8 cups of water/chicken stock yields a thick congee. For thinner congee (the way I like it), use 9 cups of liquid.
Recipe Instructions:
Wash the rice 1-2 times, mixing it in the water with your hands before discarding the starchy water. Submerge and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
Drain and transfer to a resealable bag or other freezer-safe container. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
Add the fish pieces to a medium bowl.
Marinate the fish with salt, white pepper, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and ginger. Use your hands to toss the fish to coat. Add the egg white, and gently mix until the marinade feels slippery and each fish chunk is well-coated.
Cover the bowl with an overturned plate and transfer to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to marinate while you start the congee.
In a large pot, bring 8-9 cups of stock and the frozen rice to a boil (no need to defrost the rice). Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar to avoid the congee boiling over, and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Do not stir.
While the congee cooks, wash and finely chop the romaine lettuce…
And very thinly julienne the ginger. Don’t prepare the ginger ahead of time, as you want the flavor of freshly cut ginger.
After 10 minutes, increase the heat to medium high, and stir the congee continuously for a couple of minutes to thicken.
Stir in the lettuce, and bring to a boil to wilt the leaves.
Finally, add the fish pieces, gently stirring to distribute them. (If you don’t like the taste of raw ginger in your congee, you can add the ginger at this point, along with the fish fillets.)
Bring to a boil to cook the fish through, and add additional salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve topped with scallions, cilantro, and ginger if desired.
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Recipe
20 Minute Fish Congee
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 12 ounces delicate white fish filets (such as flounder, sliced into large chunks)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1 large egg white
- 8-9 cups water or chicken broth (you can also use half stock, half water)
- 2 cups romaine lettuce (chopped)
- 3 thin slices ginger (finely julienned)
- chopped scallion and cilantro (to garnish)
Instructions
- Wash the rice 1-2 times, mixing it in the water with your hands before discarding the starchy water. Submerge and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
- Drain and transfer to a resealable bag or other freezer-safe container. Freeze for at least 8 hours.
- In a medium bowl, marinate the fish with salt, white pepper, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and ginger. Use your hands to toss the fish to coat. Add the egg white, and gently mix until the marinade feels slippery and each fish chunk is well-coated.
- Cover the bowl with an overturned plate and transfer to the refrigerator for 15 minutes to marinate while you start the congee.
- In a large pot, bring 8-9 cups of stock and the frozen rice to a boil (no need to defrost the rice). Cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar to avoid the congee boiling over, and reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Do not stir.
- While the congee cooks, wash and finely chop the romaine lettuce and very thinly julienne the ginger. Don’t prepare the ginger ahead of time, as you want the flavor of freshly cut ginger.
- After 10 minutes, increase the heat to medium high, and stir the congee continuously for a couple of minutes to thicken. Stir in the lettuce, and bring to a boil to wilt the lettuce.
- Finally, add the fish pieces, gently stirring to distribute them. (If you don’t like the taste of raw ginger in your congee, you can add the ginger at this point, along with the fish fillets.) Bring to a boil, and add additional salt and white pepper to taste. Serve topped with scallions, cilantro, and ginger if desired.
