Shirasu Whitebait Millet Porridge/ Congee
One of the taboos during Chinese New Year is not to eat porridge /congee on the first day of Chinese New Year because porridge (seen as food for the poor) brings poverty. It is now way past the fifth day of Chinese New Year, so no more food taboos! Besides, it is unseasonably cold here in California almost the middle of February, so a bowl of piping hot porridge instantly delivers warmth and comfort in the chilly nights of winter.
As natural as how the body works, when we grow older, we should revert back to eating like a growing baby? Exaggeration, you might say. The point is, consuming easily digestible food like this Shirasu Millet Porridge, especially during the night does not overload our digestive system and works better for the body.
A one-pot millet porridge/ congee, cooked with high-in-calcium shirasu (sardine whitebait), zinc-rich organic ground chicken, iron-packed watercress and beta-carotene-loaded carrots, is nutritious, wholesome yet light and comforting. For vegetarian, omit the chicken and fish in this recipe, and try this Kabocha Squash Millet Congee.
Whitebait is quite commonly consumed in Japan. Over here in the Japanese supermarket, it is typically known as Shirasu.
Shirasu Whitebait Millet Porridge/ Congee
Ingredients:
1/4 cup shirasu whitebait (already pre-cooked when sold in the stores)
1/2lb organic ground chicken, seasoned with 1tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, pinch of ground white pepper
1/2 cup diced carrot
Small handful of watercress ("home-grown" or propagated from store-bought)
3/4 mixture of short grain rice, and millet
2 green onions, sliced
Pinch of ground white pepper
Few drops of sesame oil
Directions: Boil a pot of water (of course, if you have homemade stock, that would be even better!), add shirasu and boil till turned white. Add carrot and grains and boil for 15 minutes or more till millet and rice is cooked. At the last 5 minutes when the millet and rice is just about to be cooked, add the ground chicken, breaking them up to bits while stirring into the millet porridge (I did not add the chicken from the start while boiling the carrots and millet as boiling the ground chicken for too long makes them tough and rubbery). Simmer for a few minutes till all the ingredients are cooked, then garnish generously with green onions. A drop or two of sesame oil to impart aroma before serving.
Tag: millet congee, fish porridge
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