5.10.03
From United States Restaurant Guide:
a guide to every restaurant in the USA www.usrg.com
Congee or "Jook".
Congee is a white rice porridge slow-cooked with bits of shrimp, scallions,
fish, lettuce and peanuts added. Congee is a typical Chinese breakfast..
I was introduced
to congee while in Vancouver last year shooting The CORE. We got
into this groove of ordering congee about halfway between breakfast
and lunch whilst standing around some tin roofed soundstage wondering
what to do next. This little daily ordeal became so ensconced in
our production team that at one point we had a $100 (C-Bucks) congee
order going out with a PA. It was great seeing all those bleary
eyed conformists slurping and slurping away. The healing powers
were indeed in need and worked like a charm. (Henry)
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The
Benefits of Congee (Rice Water)
By Julie Silver, Dipl. Ac.
Traditionally known as hsi-fan or "rice water", Congee has a myriad
of healing properties. It is both easily digested and absorbed and consists
of an uncomplicated rice soup. Congee tonifies the qi (pronounced "chee" and
without a better discription it is the "life force" or "life
energy") and the blood (blood is thought of a bit differently and may
be considered as solidified qi or the transport vessel of qi). Congee harmonizes
digestion, and also acts as a "cooling" agent when there is heat
and inflammation in the body. With the aid of a nursing mother supply of
milk may be increased. Although rice is the most common grain for congee,
a variety of additional vegetables, grains, and herbs can be added to enhance
the therapeutic properties. Brown rice: diuretic, thirst-quenching, nourishing,
good for nursing mothersSweet rice: Used for diarrhea, vomiting, and indigestion
Wheat: cooling, used for fevers, clears digestive tract, calming and sedating.
Ginger: warming and antiseptic to the organs, used for cold digestive weakness,
diarrhea, anorexia, vomiting, and indigestion.
Taken from the back of the menu at my
favorite Congee house in Vancouver, BC
Congee is a popular kind of traditional Chinese
diet which has been around for thousands of years. It is mentioned
in many ancient Chinese books, some of which date back to the very
beginning of Chinese history. One ancient record describes the
preparation of a "celestial Congee" which contains curing
powers that overcome certain chronic disease affecting the kidney
and the spleen and can also build up body health. A sung Dynasty
Poet, Lu You, wrote in a poem on congee: "All mortals crave
for ling life. They do not understand that the key lies in the
present. For me who live in the vale, my philosophy is easy and
simple: eating congee brings health and leads to immortality."
(Thus, to use the proclamation, "Hey
bud, LU YOU!, Is actually an acknowledgement of well wishes--Hank)
Nevertheless, it is totally believe able that eatingcongee maintains good
health and prolongs life. From the modern medical point of view, congee
-- a semi-liquid diet -- regulates and enhance our appetite. It brings
healthy digestion and helps the body to readily absorb nutrition. The benefits
of eating congee are irrefutable.
Kinda hard
to argue with that, huh. I mean cccc'mon! This amazing pice of
history came from the back of a menu of my favorite congee parlor
in Vancouver, BC. I think it is called Congee House, something
like that.
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| You can get almost anything
yo want in congee, seafood, chicken, 1000 year old eggs. The congee
itself is just the "Jook" or porridge. Whatever else
you order just comes mixed in at the last minute.In Vancouver we
became partial to something I have yet to see anyway else called
Hong Kong Style. Which had crushed peanuts on top as well. Very
tasty and adds a little crunch to an otherwise very uncrunchy meal. |
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Off course you will never go wrong if
you put a little "sludge" (the hot chili paste mixture
that comes in the bottoms of the hot oil jars and some soy sauce.
Cure of you just about anything it will. Sludge and all. |
| After
getting back to LA, I kinda got on a conggee Jones, where was
the elixir, was my broth? After a small amount of research I
have two options for those of us in LA. On the westside there
is a surprisingly decent place called: |
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Little
Hong Kong Cafe
2129 sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
310-478-7329 |
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They have a good 5-6 kinds of congee,
goes for the outrageous amount of $5.00, but still you can't beat
it. Not for all the tea in...In Chinatown there are obviously lots
of options (be warned, congee is not always on the menu and asking
for it can bring odd reactions from the restaurant folk. My favorite
in Chinatown is called something like "Lucky Deli" on
North Broadway just a block or two into Chinatown (heading east)
It is a nothing, take-out looking place where a lot indigent people
eat becasue it costs about $3 for a heaping pile of cafeteria style
Chinese food. They have 2-3 kinds of congee and it goes for $1.99
an order. I tried to email Jonathen Gold about where to eat Congee
on the Westside of Los Angeles and he completely ignored me, you
can try to bug him here as well at: askmrgold@laweekly.com
So, still you ask, what is heck
is it? Well here is a recipe given to me from one of the co-workers
up in Vancouver. He pretty much made it up. But judging from the
recipes I have read online--it is as good as any.
AT LEAST 4 quarts of chicken stock in a large
pot. I use 6 quarts. I use canned stock and or bullion because
I am lazy.
(I use and electric counter top pot - Presto
- 20 bucks at Target - super precise temp control. Great for making
all kinds of soups and stews)
2 to 4 quarter size slices fresh peeled Ginger
Bring to a SIMMER, just at boiling, and add
ONE CUP ONLY of rice. It is better to have too much liquid than
too little
Simmer for one to two hours uncovered. Keep
your eye on it and add water as necessary
After about an hour add lots of sliced mushrooms.
(2 of those pre sliced packs works for me)
About ten minutes before you turn the heat
off add your choice of fresh or frozen small raw shrimp, scallops,
etc., or uniform chunks of raw chicken. I add it at the end because
it will cook pretty quick and makes the meat tender and juicy.
Garnish with a handful of sliced scallions.
Salt to taste.
I love it. Perfect for the cool days we are having up here in the mountains.
It doesn't freeze work a flip so don't bother
trying.
Another friend of mine gave some insider info. His mother used to par boil
the fish first, then use that water as the base for the congee. Sounds
like a winning piece of information.
More Congee in LA:
Thai congee
Saladang Song
383 S. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena,
(626) 793-5200.
Luk Yue
123 North Garfield Avenue,
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 280-2888
Har Lam Kee
150 E. Garvey in Monterey Park.
Royal Star Seafood on Wilshire.
--So there you have it. the story
of congee and the first installment of www.hank's Dada Chabungla.
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