“An ideal healthy light meal for your detox diet plan.”
Just feeling a little unwell with feverish body and dry throat. Chinese believed that rice congee or you called it rice porridge, might help to reduce the increased body heat (the body “heatiness”). So, I liked to cook porridge for dinner, if I found myself or my family member with symptoms of falling sick.
Most of the people would eat porridge as breakfast or supper as it was normally perceived as light meal. And, it could be digested easily, as compared to solid food such as rice.
Some people favored plain rice porridge to go with dishes eg braised duck meat, fried fish, and relishes eg salted egg, black bean paste and pickled lettuce, while others liked Cantonese congee, for instances, pork mixes congee, fish congee and seafood congee.
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
1 cup of long grain rice, washed
Canned limpets (about 10 pieces in a can)
1 piece of chicken breast part (about 100 gram)
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
1 pot of water, 80% filled (about 2000ml)
Garnish:
Spring onion, chopped
Parsley, chopped
Sprinkles of pepper and light soy sauce (optional)
Method
1) In a large pot, bring water and rice to a boil over high heat. When the rice is boiling, lower heat to medium-low fire.
2) Put in chicken fillet to cook for 15 min. Place and tilt the lid on the pot. Remove chicken fillet, and shred it when cooled. Set aside.
3) Stir in salt and pepper, and continue to simmer for 15 min or longer over low heat. Stir constantly, until the rice breaks down and becomes fairly smooth texture of porridge.
4) Drain limpets from the can. Put in limpets and shredded chicken 5 minutes before heat off. Garnish and serve hot.
This rice congee was simple and quick to cook. As a working mom, congee dish had become one of my favourite 1-dish-meals due to its simplicity in cooking. Get the ingredients prepared the night before or in the morning before leaving for work. When home in the evening, simply take about 30min to bring them to boil, and you will have delicious hot dinner served in no time.
I cooked small abalone (limpet) and shredded chicken congee tonight, a scrumptious congee with low calories intake. This congee counts about 230kcal!
Tips: You may choose to serve with some chicken shreds on the porridge, like I did.
*You may also slice or cut the limpets into pieces instead of serving whole, as desired.
*Do not put in limpets too early as long cooking will toughen it and turn rubbery.
*Canned limpets are available in most supermarkets. It costs about S$10 per can.
