Pork Rice Congee 瘦肉粥

Rice congee is also known as rice porridge.  It is commonly served for breakfast in Asia.  It can be cooked watery or to a texture similar to oatmeal or porridge.  Besides functioning as an everyday meal,  it is also used to feed young infants and to a person who is not well with loss of appetite.

My little daughter was running a fever few days ago.  She didn't want to eat anything and I made this pork rice congee for her to make sure she got plenty of  fluid.  Giving only clear liquid or soup to a sick person is best for them.  I only used a small amount of pork to make the porridge more tasty for her to eat.  She was willing to eat a bowl after the fever went down.

Ingredients:

2 oz. pork, sliced
2 dried scallops
1/2 cup rice, rinsed
5 cups of water or more to preferred consistency
1 green onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Soak dried scallops in cold water.
2. Marinate rice with a little oil and salt.*
3. Add scallops with 5 cups of water and bring to a boil.
4. Add in the rice and bring to a boil. Stir to make sure the rice does not stick to the bottom.**
5. Turn heat down to simmer for 45 minutes.
6. Marinate pork with a little cornstarch, sesame oil, sugar and salt.
7. Add the marinated pork and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Stir until pork is cooked. 
8. Sprinkle some green onions when ready to serve.

Note:

*Congee tastes better when marinating the rice with a little oil and salt first. I did not do that in this case because I wanted to keep the congee  less fattening.  It is also common practice to omit meat but dried scallops to keep the congee clear of fat.

**Water should be brought to a boil before adding the rice.