Fish porridge, 2 ways
Cantonese-style and Teochew-style
Cantonese fish porridge
Serves 2-4
Advance preparation:
100g jasmine rice
50g glutinous rice
40g peanuts
50g dried yuba, broken up finely
½ teaspoon baking soda
1L water
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Rinse rice, drain and freeze 2 hours or until frozen. Soak peanuts for 2 hours. Soak the yuba in baking soda and water for 30 minutes. Cover the red onion with just enough oil and fry until golden brown. Strain the onion to get onion-infused oil and crispy onion.
For stock:
4 tablespoons shallot oil
350g fish bones
50g ginger
25g spring onion whites
1 teaspoon white peppercorn
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
3L water
Heat a pot and add the shallot oil. Fry the fish bones, ginger, spring onion and white peppercorn until aromatic. Add the drained tofu skin and Shaoxing wine. Fry for a minute or two, then add the water. Cook 1 hour. Strain – resist the urge to season the stock.
For the porridge:
2L stock
Frozen rice (see above)
Soaked and drained peanuts (see above)
1 teaspoon salt
1 century egg, chopped
300g sliced fish, marinated with a dash of Shaoxing and soy and big pinch of cornflour for 30min
Raw egg
Fried onions (see above)
Spring onion, sliced
Youtiao (dough fritters)
White pepper
Soy
Combine the stock, rice and peanuts. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes or until the porridge is thick and creamy. Season with salt. Add the century egg and sliced fish. Heat until the fish is cooked through. Spoon into bowls and serve with raw egg, fried onions, spring onions and youtiao. Extra white pepper and soy are good to have on the side.
Teochew fish porridge
3 chicken carcasses
3L water
30g haebee
20g ginger, peeled and cut into coins
300g taro, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
30g dried flat fish, cut into small pieces
200g wombok, sliced
3-4 tablespoons fish sauce
400g cooked rice
400g fish fillet, thickly sliced
1 tomato, cut into wedges
50g tang oh (chrysanthemum leaves)
7g dried seaweed
Coriander leaves, as desired
Blanch chicken bones for 15 minutes. Drain, and combine the bones with water, haebee, and ginger. Boil and simmer 2 hours. Strain.
Deep fry taro. Deep fry dried flatfish. Combine the wombok, fish sauce, fried taro and flatfish, and stock. Bring to the boil and add cooked rice, sliced fish, tomato, tang oh, and dried seaweed. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and white pepper, if desired. Top with coriander leaves.