Rice Porridge (Jook/Congee) with Sauteed Chard

When I was growing up in LA’s Chinatown, it was our family’s ritual to head over to the dim sum parlor on Broadway every Sunday morning. The restaurant was always crowded with families waiting by the front and loudly talking over one another. My mother always seemed to know one of the wait staff who would sneak us in before it was actually our turn on the waiting list.

Once inside, a pot of Bo Lai tea would be placed on our table. It was a bountiful scene. There were shrimp dumplings, tender egg tarts and stewed chicken feet, among many other things that we wanted to stuff right into our mouths. Food seemed to magically appear as one by one the dim sum ladies pushed their full carts up to our table. They would loudly announce their goods and if necessary, cajole us if we turned them down.

But, what I often wanted more than the rich dumplings and pork-stuffed rice noodles was a large bowl of rice porridge called jook (or congee). At its plainest, it is made of nothing more than rice, water and perhaps a bit of salt and pepper. It is a food that was eaten during war and famine. A food that has its origins in hardship and want.  

Inevitably, I would ask one of the ladies for some jook (the restaurant version being enriched with chicken stock and bits of meat, sometimes pork and “thousand-year-old” eggs). This would result in my mother declaring once again how she couldn’t understand why I wanted to eat that when there were so many other good things to eat: We ate it when we were running from the Japanese! When we were starving and there was nothing else! We would use one cup of rice and ten cups of water to make a pot of jook to feed everyone!

Once you make this recipe, you might start to understand my love of this simple dish and how it was able to sustain so many hungry people who had nothing but a small bit of white rice to share between them. It is soothing, settles the belly and warms you. Its flavor is subtle and clean.

Glorious Chard, Fresh and Nutritious...

Here, I have added chard that was sautéed separately in plenty of oil infused with garlic and a piece of ginger. The silkiness of the greens is perfect with the porridge and the whole thing is even better when finished with a drizzle of scallion oil, sesame oil and a shower of chopped green onions. When the oils hit the hot porridge, the smell is just intoxicating. 

If you want, you can make variations of this. The easiest one is to simply use chicken stock instead of water to enrich it. You can substitute the greens with shredded chicken, pork, beef or yes, even a Thousand-Year-Old egg (a duck egg preserved in lime, causing the egg white to turn brown and the yolk to transform into a gooey green in the process). Japanese and Korean versions often add a raw egg that gets stirred in and cooked by the heat of the porridge.

Many of my favorite things to eat are simple, plain and uncomplicated. This is at the top of my list.

Rice Porridge(Jook/Congee) with Spring Greens

Ingredients

1 cup white short grain rice
10 cups water
2 teaspoons salt
1 or 2 pinches of ground white pepper
1 bunch swiss chard, stems removed (save for another use), rinsed, and leaves chopped into ribbons
1 clove garlic, smashed
1 slice fresh ginger, smashed
2 Tablespoons sunflower oil

For garnish:

Chopped scallions, greens and whites
Dark toasted sesame oil
Black sesame seeds

Green Scallion Oil 

Instructions

For greens

1. Heat pan on medium-high. When pan is hot, add oil, garlic and then ginger. Remove garlic and ginger after 2-3 minutes.

2. Add greens and stir, coating greens with oil and sauté. If your greens become too dry, add a tablespoon or two of liquid, stirring. Cook until nicely wilted, about 5 minutes. Set greens aside.

Jook/Congee

1. Give rice a good rinse to remove any talc. Place in large heavy-bottom pot.

2. Add water, salt.

3. Turn heat to medium high and bring to a boil.

4. Once it boils, turn it down to low.

5. While porridge is simmering, make greens (see above).

6. Simmer partially covered for an hour, or until mixture resembles a heavy cream.

7. Place a small pile of greens in bowl. Ladle porridge in around the greens. Garnish with chopped scallions, sesame seeds. Drizzle sesame oil generously. Drizzle scallion oil on generously as well.

8. Eat, share. Eat some more.

Green Scallion Oil

Last year, I learned to make pesto a different way. This was thanks to our CSA, which not only provided us with local produce, eggs from pastured hens, dairy, reef-net pink salmon and pastured meats, but recipes too!

I was used to throwing fresh basil leaves in with the other ingredients and hitting the 'on' button of my food processor as I drizzled in my olive oil. I had never blanched  basil before, as the CSA recipe instructed. It seemed almost blasphemous to dunk a bunch of something so intensely fragrant and fresh into a pot of boiling water - even if only for a couple of minutes.

But wanting to think of myself as a flexible sort of person, I tried it, and behold, the pesto stayed green for much longer than it ever had before. By the next day, it hadn't developed that darkened, off-color green that usually appeared on the surfaces of past batches of my "fresh" pesto. This version was still bright green and had retained its just-made taste. 

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Enjoying time amongst friends.

The young onion plants in our garden (chives, scallions, spring onions) are just loving the cool, Spring weather we've been having. The morning drizzle that alternates with peeks of sunshine as the clouds shift overhead: perfect green scallion weather. So why not celebrate this tender green?

Here is a version of a flavored scallion oil, not pesto exactly as it is free of pine nuts, garlic or cheese. More of an herbal emulsion, it is filled with the first deep, green bite of spring as embodied by the scallion.

I found that blanching the green parts of the scallion tempered the onion taste slightly. The addition of a tiny bit of sugar brought a sweetness to the fore. You can use olive oil here, or a more neutral oil if for instance, you want to use it to garnish an Asian dish. This sauce can be drizzled on nearly anything - a salad, a poached egg, a piece of buttered bread.

I am told by a credible source that even turtles like this stuff!

Scallion Oil

(Makes 1 cup)

Ingredients

8 scallions, green parts only

½ cup spinach leaves

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar

1 cup sunflower oil

Instructions

1. Bring large pot of water to boil.

2. Fill another bowl with ice water.

3. Add scallions and spinach leaves. Blanch for 1-2 minutes.

4. Place in ice water immediately. This will help keep your finished product maintain its color.

5. Remove from water, place in kitchen towel and squeeze out excess water.

6. Place ingredients in blender, blitz until you have a beautiful, bright green sauce.

7. Use within 5 days. The color will start to fade slightly toward the end but it will still be delicious!

Green Goddess Dressing with Roasted Garlic

So, okay. While living in winter darkness, dutifully swallowing my daily vitamin D and salmon oil capsules to maintain a positive mood, I consumed a lot, possibly gallons of Green Goddess Dressing.

My tarragon plant had gone dormant. So, I substituted some dried herbs. But my dressing was still green and creamy and a much-needed reminder of the eventual return of spring. I slathered it on lettuce, dunked cut-up carrots and celery in it and dipped crackers into it. I even poured it over quinoa-feta cakes.

Green Goddess Dressing may be a relic of the hippie sixties to some, but for me, it's a sustaining elixir. While the version you may be familiar with uses raw garlic, I like to use roasted garlic to temper some of the bite. I started doing this after my teenage niece, Alex, came over and said the dressing was a little "strong" for her tastes.

Roasted garlic provides grounding and offers voluptuousness to the lighter, more showy green notes.

I won’t hog you to myself anymore, Green Goddess. Now that Spring’s here, everyone ought to be enjoying your happy flavors.

Here's to sharing!

Green Goddess Dressing (adapted from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone) 

¾ c. sour cream or yogurt

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½ cup chopped parsley

3 tablespoons chopped chives (or 2 tablespoons green onions)

1 ½ tablespoon chopped tarragon (or 1 teaspoon dried)

2 small garlic cloves

1 or 2 anchovies, depending on your preferred taste or ¼ teaspoon salt for vegetarians

Heat up a cast-iron skillet and toss in your cloves of garlic, skin still on. Let them blister and blacken, turning as needed.

Combine all the ingredients, including the roasted garlic, along with 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor. An immersion blender works too. Blend until smooth and pale green, the color of Spring. Taste and add more anchovy/salt if needed.

Slather on everything edible in sight. This dressing likes sturdy lettuces, such as large romaine leaves. Try it on quinoa cakes, veggies or crackers. Devour. Then devour some more.

Tender Currant Scones

Ever since I made butternut squash sage scones for my two-and-a-half-year-old last Fall, he has been obsessed. What's not to love about a bunch of butter, cream, squash, sugar, spices and flour smashed together into a toddler-graspable triangle of deliciousness?

Since that first bite, scones officially became his favorite kind of “cake,” and I've been warned it’s what he expects to appear at his birthday party in October.

While he likes all kinds of scones, the classic British type – cake-like and tender, dotted through with cheerful bits of dried currants – are his favorite. They are a bit more refined than the brash American ones that abound and are genteel enough to accept a dab of butter after being split in half. Or, how about some Devon cream - fresh heavy cream cooked down into a thick, heart-stopping goodness. Try some of that on it, will you?

We spent the afternoon recently with our terrific neighbor, Heather (of Jagger Photography). She and her husband are masters of telling stories about families and love and capturing exuberant, light-soaked photos full of color happiness - even here in cloudy Washington. Check them out, you'll be happy you did.

Heather took some awesome photos while we baked and gave me lots of helpful pointers about shooting food. Thanks so much, Heather! One caveat I should mention: Heather had to use my camera with the crappy lens. Boo. We still had fun though. Here's what we made!  

Tender Currant Scones

(Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated.)

Makes 24.

Wet Ingredients Await Their Turn 

Dry Ingredients...Check!

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons baking powder*
1 scant teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup sugar
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and softened
1 ½ c. dried currants
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
4 large eggs

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Prep two rimmed baking sheets – line with parchment paper. Pulse flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in food processor until combined (6 to 7 pulses). Add butter until fully incorporated (about 25 pulses). Mixture should look like very fine crumbs with no visible butter.

Whisk milk, half-and-half, and eggs together in another bowl. Set aside 4 tablespoons of this liquid mixture. Add remaining liquid to flour mixture and fold together until almost no dry bits of butter remain. (A rubber spatula is perfect for this step.) Fold in the currants.

Transfer dough to a well-floured counter and gather it into a ball. You will notice that it is quite wet and not shaggy like your typical American-type scone dough.

Do not fret! Soft, wet dough is your friend. 

Please maintain a cool, British calm. This is exactly how to want the dough to look. Flour your hands well. Knead the dough until the surface is smooth and free of cracks. 

Gently knead about 30 times.

Press down gently to form a disk. Flour your rolling pin. Roll your disk out until it is about 1-inch thick. You can roll it out into a very large circle or rectangle, your choice. Just keep the thickness even.Using a floured 2 ½-inch round cutter, stamp out eight rounds at a time. Recoat the cutter with flour if it begins to stick. Push the cutter straight down and don’t twist it when you are pulling it up. Sharp-edged cuts will create taller, more even scones.

Little Scribbler stole a hunk of the dough. Oh well.

Arrange the scones on your prepped sheet.

Here’s a cool thing about this recipe. You can gather whatever scraps are left, roll them out again and stamp out more scones. A second roll does not cause toughness. Don’t re-roll the scraps remaining from the second roll though. These will definitely produce tough little pucks.

Gentle brushing will do. Egg and milk wash gives your finished scones a golden brown sheen.

Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved milk/half-and-half/egg mixture. Turn oven down to 425 degrees and bake the scones until they are risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate the sheets halfway between baking for even cooking.

Transfer your scones to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Admire their beauty and resist the urge to shove one into your mouth. Serve scones warm or at room temperature. These are delicious split in half and smeared with butter or clotted cream. 

You may also freeze any leftovers and reheat them for 15 minutes in a 300-degree oven. But I doubt if you will stop at eating just one.

These are for sharing! Bring some over to the neighbors. Or, have a "cake" party with your favorite toddler at home.

Adapted  from Cook’s Illustrated.

Makes 24 scones.

Ingredients

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons baking powder*

1 scant teaspoon sea salt

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and softened

1 ½ c. dried currants

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup half-and-half

4 large eggs

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Prep two rimmed baking sheets – line with parchment paper. Pulse flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in food processor until combined (6 to 7 pulses). Add butter until fully incorporated (about 25 pulses). Mixture should look like very fine crumbs with no visible butter.

Whisk milk, half-and-half, and eggs together in another bowl. Set aside 4 tablespoons of this liquid mixture. Add remaining liquid to flour mixture and fold together until almost no dry bits of butter remain. (A rubber spatula is perfect for this step.) Fold in the currants.

Transfer dough to a well-floured counter and gather it into a ball. You will notice that it is quite wet and not shaggy like your typical American-type scone dough. Flour your hands well. Knead the dough until the surface is smooth, about 30 times. Press down gently to form a disk. Flour your rolling pin. Roll your disk out until it is about 1-inch thick. You can roll it out into a very large circle or rectangle, your choice. Just keep the thickness even.

Using a floured 2 ½-inch round cutter, stamp out eight rounds at a time. Recoat the cutter with flour if it begins to stick. Push the cutter straight down and don’t twist it when you are pulling it up. Sharp-edged cuts will create taller, more even scones.

Arrange the scones on your prepped sheet.

Gather whatever scraps are left, roll them out again and stamp out more scones. A second roll does not cause toughness. .

Brush the tops of the scones with the reserved milk/half-and-half/egg mixture. Turn oven down to 425 degrees and bake the scones until they are risen and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate the sheets halfway between baking for even cooking.

Transfer your scones to a wire rack and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Admire their beauty and resist the urge to shove one into your mouth. Serve scones warm or at room temperature. These are delicious split in half and smeared with butter or clotted cream. 

You may also freeze any leftovers and reheat them for 15 minutes in a 300-degree oven. 

* I use non-aluminum Rumsford brand – who wants to eat aluminum? Yuck.

Coin Purse Eggs...Hello Spring!

Winters here in Western Washington can sure feel long. By the end of February, the consistently dark and wet days begin to feel like they will never end. You wake up with your house solidly encased in darkness, turn all the lights on (for mental health reasons) and before you know it, your afternoon goes from murky dampness to pure blackness once again. And it’s not even anywhere near dinner time yet.

Lately, our still drizzly days have been punctuated here and there by an actual sunny day. That’s when you’ll find us running outside dressed in tee shirts and shorts. Who cares if it’s still a bit cold out? Who even notices that we are blinding one another with the full moon glow of our winter skin?

We tilt our faces up to the sky, grateful for the light. We greet our friends, whom we haven’t seen since we traded cookies and jars of hot fudge in December, with hugs and say things like, “You made it through the dark months!”

Hello Spring. You are here!

For me, Spring is about fresh eggs. Not those bland ones from the supermarket that we dye for Easter. I’m talking about rich, Omega-laden yolks like the ones local pastured hens have been busy laying now that there is more light each day (Did you know, chickens need about 14 hours of daylight to be able to lay consistently?).

Eggs make me think of my little Chinese mom who raised six hungry kids by herself with a simple dish of steamed white rice and coin purse eggs. We ate a lot of this stuff. It was filling and cheap but still felt special. After all, each “coin purse” contained the promise of wealth and prosperity.

Fresh Eggs From My Brother's Hens

Before you start on the eggs, make sure you already have a pot of cooked rice done. Long-grain is good. So is medium-grain brown. Today we made haiga, a Japanese type which is almost white but not quite brown rice. The bran has been removed, but the germ still remains. It's an in-between thing. Anyway...

It’s time to start your eggs.  

You’ll be cooking one egg at a time, but the whole process goes pretty quickly. You'll be eating very, very soon. I promise.  

Heat two tablespoons or so of oil of your choice (I like sunflower or peanut) in the bottom of curved cooking vessel – like a wok, for instance. Make sure it’s good and hot. This is important!

Take one fresh egg (now’s definitely the time to splurge on organic, farm fresh) and crack it into your little pool of heated oil. Alternatively, you can place your egg in a bowl or cup and then slide it in. But we live on the edge around here. Crack it right in, I say!

Once it goes it, it will sizzle and pop in a most satisfying way. The white should puff up and start to set around the edges. I like to tip the pan to one side to encourage the white to stretch a bit toward one side. This will make it easier to fold.

At this point, swirling the oil a bit around the whole egg is good too. The bottom will start to become crispy and develop brown spots. The yolk will still be wiggly with some uncooked white immediately around it.

It’s been about a minute-and-a-half now. Take your spatula and carefully work it under one side of the egg.

Gently fold the white over the yolk so that it comes together with the opposite edge of white. Introduce them. Let the edges be friends.

This next part might get a little tricky, especially if you are cooking on a flat surface. You might need to tilt the pan a bit and try to nestle the egg into the curved inner part. You will need to hold your spatula for a few moments keep the egg used to its new position. It will quickly set.

When you let go, you’ll see that you’ve made a chubby purse-shaped package with a delicious yolky “coin” inside. So cute. It wiggles when you touch it.   

The proper way to eat it?

Scoop some rice into a bowl. Gently lay your egg on top. Add a splash of soy sauce and a sprinkling of green onions. Shower it with some sesame seeds and it's practically fancy. Poke the soft yolk and let it run down into the hot rice. Mix this rich, sunshine-y concoction up with your chopsticks then savor each bite.

Here’s to sunny days ahead! Enjoy!

Note: If you have some greens lying around in your veggie bin (Radish greens are great – we don’t like to waste anything around here), go ahead and sauté them with a little garlic and oil. Add that to your bowl and you will have a beyond satisfying meal.