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Congee with spinach leaves and cooked chicken

Karen Martini
Karen Martini

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Any twist on this dish will help keep the winter blues at bay.
Any twist on this dish will help keep the winter blues at bay.Bonnie Savage

There is something very nourishing and comforting about congee, and it is often "prescribed" much in the same way that chicken soup is. Using a deep home-made chicken stock for this means you've got all bases covered.

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Ingredients

  • 4 eggs

  • 80ml soy sauce

  • 1 tsp sesame oil

  • 100g baby spinach leaves, blanched and drained

  • 150g cooked chicken, shredded

  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced

  • 8cm ginger, peeled and julienned

  • micro cress or coriander leaves, to serve

  • pickled seaweed, to serve

  • furikake (Japanese seasoning mix), to serve

  • sriracha, to serve

  • 1 long green chilli, finely sliced

Congee

  • 1 cup sushi rice

  • 1.5 litres water

  • 1 litre chicken stock

  • 2 thick slices ginger

  • 1 tsp salt flakes

Method

  1. 1. For the congee, add all the ingredients to a large, wide-based saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for 45 minutes at a slow simmer, stirring occasionally, until a porridge-like consistency.

    2. Fry the eggs sunny side up in a non-stick frying pan.

    3. Divide the congee between the serving bowls. Drizzle a little soy and sesame oil over each and add the spinach, chicken and eggs. Top with some spring onion, ginger, cress, seaweed and furikake and serve with sriracha, chilli and extra ginger, with some spring onion, seaweed, furikake and soy on the side.

    Tips

    1. Shallow-fry wonton skins for a crunchy textural contrast to the congee.

    2. For a seafood version, pan-fry prawn cutlets and drop on top of the cooked congee.

    3. Roll up toasted nori sheets and snip finely with scissors over the finished congee.

    4. This version is not authentic, as such, but it is delicious and very simple to make. The toppings I have listed are merely suggestions; you can add anything that takes your fancy. Leftover roast duck or pork belly, for example, would be fantastic additions.

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Karen MartiniKaren Martini is a Melbourne-based chef, restaurateur, author and television presenter. She has a regular column in Good Weekend.

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