hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re diving back into our series dedicated to Hawaiian classics with a shot at a Chinese congee or rice porridge, inspired by the elaborately fancy and delicious one found at Koko Head Cafe in Honolulu, Oahu. For those unfamiliar, a Chinese congee at its core is a very simple concept. It is essentially long grain or jasmine rice that has been cooked with two or three times more water than would typically be used for your more standard rice recipes, resulting in a more porridgy and watered down texture. Most typically in Chinese cuisine you might see this eaten as a very simple breakfast (maybe with some soy sauce, furikake, dried rousong, or even just on its own).
Of course since it is such a simple concept, there are also similar parallels in many other Asian cultures as well, like the korean juk, the Japanese okayu, the Taiwanese xifan, the variations are endless. For our version today however, we’re gonna be taking a look at Koko Head Cafe’s interpretation of a Hawaiian inspired Congee, which makes use of some Hawaiian portugese sausage, pouched egg, and a crispy cinnamon bacon crouton tossed in bacon fat (I know, if that sounds incredibly rich, delicious, and heart attack inducing, it must mean we are once again back in the world of Hawaiian cuisine). Hope you try it.
Serves 2-3
INGREDIENTS
4 cloves garlic
1 inch (about 1 tbsp) ginger
3 green onions
7 cups chicken stock (or water)
1 cup rice
1 Hawaiian Portuguese sausage
4 pieces leftover sourdough bread
4 slices thick cut bacon
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
black sesame seeds
white sesame seeds
maple syrup
peanut oil
PREP
CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside
FINE MINCE the ginger, set aside
SEPARATE the whites and greens of the green onions, then slice the whites thinly, and the greens on a bias, set aside
MEDIUM DICE the sausage, set aside
MEDIUM DICE the bacon set aside
LARGE DICE the the bread, set aside
ON THE STOVE
HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 2 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the garlic, ginger, and whites of the green onions, then bloom until fragrant for about 15 seconds
ADD the chicken stock (or water) to the wok, reduce to simmer heat, then add the rice, and let simmer for 30 minutes
WIPE down the wok, reheat as hot as possible, add an additional 2 tbsp peanut oil and long yao
ADD the sausage and saute for 2-3 minutes until golden brown, then remove and set aside
REDUCE heat to medium low, then add the bacon to the wok, and gradually raise the heat over 5 minutes until bacon fat renders to liquid form, then remove the bacon solids and set aside
ADD the bread to a large mixing bowl, then add the bacon fat and cinnamon, and toss to combine
ADD the bread to a baking sheet, then bake at 350F for 15 minutes until crispy
BOIL a pot of water, then use a spoon to swirl the water into a vortex
CRACK an egg into a fine mesh sieve, then add the egg into the water while continuing to swirl, until the whites set
SERVE the congee topped with sausage, bacon, croutons, and pouched egg
FINISH with black and white sesame seeds, green onions, and maple syrup