Rice congee is cooked with yam or taro, pork, shiitake mushrooms and served with toppings on condiments on the side. Can be cooked on the stove or Instant Pot.
It’s not unusual for us to have savory rice congee/porridge for breakfast in the morning. I know many of my American friends can’t wrap their heads around the idea of eating savory porridge (or savory oatmeal for that matter). Perhaps I grew up with this and so I would say it’s normal. Just like drinking cow’s milk every morning was not a common thing in Asia (not at the time I was a kid!)
This Yam/Taro congee is my mom’s friend’s recipe. She is such a good cook and this congee is one of my favorite recipes from her. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a hopeless carb addict (because I love roots, tubers, noodles, pasta, rice, bread, seriously….anything that has carbs!). Yam/Taro is one of my weaknesses.
The term yam and taro are used interchangeably in Asia, though I know it’s not the same thing here in the U.S. You can google and see the difference 😉
HOW TO MAKE CHINESE YAM/TARO AND PORK CONGEE
1. Heat up 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add dried shrimp and saute until you smell a wonderful flavor, about 10-15 seconds. You will be using “saute” mode on Instant Pot to do this (it will automatically show 30 minutes on saute mode)
2. Add in the pork and saute until they turn color
3. Add shiitake mushrooms, yams, carrots (if using) and seasoning. Saute for about 1 minute
4. Add rice grains. Add the chicken stock and give it a stir. Make sure nothing gets stuck at the bottom of the pot. Turn off saute mode if using Instant Pot.
5. Bring it to boil and add the rice then lower the heat and continue to cook until the rice is soft and thickened, about 20-30 minutes or so. If using Instant Pot, close the lid and turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Press “pressure cook” and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set timer to 30 minutes. You can also use the “porridge” mode, it will cook at high pressure for 30 minutes too.
Serve them while they are still hot!
Read my post on “How to Cook Asian Rice Porridge” for different water to rice ratio.
Chinese Yam (Taro) and Pork Congee
Ingredients
- 1 cup Jasmine Rice rinse with cold water a few time and then drain off water (see note)
- 500 gr yam/taro peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 300 gr pork chin/jowl cut into thin strips or you can use ground pork too
- 50 gr dried shrimps soaked in warm water until soft,drain and then roughly chop
- 5-6 dried large shitake mushrooms soaked in warm water until soft and plump, then sliced
- 10 cups chicken stock or use water if you prefer
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
Seasonings to marinate the pork:
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp corn starch
Toppings:
- 1 stalk green onion thinly sliced at an angle
- Fresh ginger peeled and cut into thin strips
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Ground white pepper
Instructions
Marinate the pork:
- Place the pork in a large mixing bowl. Add marinate ingredients. You can marinate overnight or for at least 1 hour before using
Cooking on the stove:
- Heat up 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. Add dried shrimp and saute until you smell a wonderful flavor, about 10-15 seconds. Add in the pork and saute until they turn color, add shiitake mushrooms and yams. Saute for about 1 minute and then add the rice grains. Add the chicken stock. Bring it to boil and add the rice then lower the heat and continue to cook until the rice is soft and thickened, about 20-30 minutes or so. You can season the porridge with salt to your taste if you like
Cooking with Instant Pot:
- Press saute on Instant Pot. When it's hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil. Add dried shrimp and saute until you smell a wonderful flavor, about 10-15 seconds. Add pork and saute until they turn color, add shiitake mushrooms and yams. Saute for about 1 minute and then add the rice grains. Add the chicken stock and give it a stir. Make sure nothing gets stuck at the bottom of the pot. Turn off saute mode
- Close the lid and turn the steam release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cook" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set timer to 30 minutes. You can also use the "porridge" mode, it will cook at high pressure for 30 minutes too
- When the timer is done, wait 5 minutes and then fully release pressure. If the texture is too thick, you can always thin it out with a bit of water until it reaches the consistency you like
- Season the porridge with some salt if you like
Serving:
- Serve hot with sesame oil, ginger, chopped green onion and pepper
