龍蝦粥/Lobster Congee

Congee is the perfect comfort food.  If you are not feeling well or have an upset stomach, congee is the best choice.  In my case today, I definitely feel like something comforting after our big Lobster and Egg Noodles Stir-fried in Green Onion and Ginger Sauce meal last night.  Many parts of the lobster like the head and smaller claws are not easy to eat but still have lots of flavour so I saved those parts to make congee today.  I saved half of my 7.5 lb lobster and planned to use it all but it turned out to be too much for one meal.  So I took the head and a couple of feet, and put the rest in the freezer.  It was plenty, what a big lobster!


I served the Lobster Congee along with Chinese Long Bean Salad in Szechuan Spicy Sauce and it was a perfect meal for tonight.  This congee is very easy to make.  It absorbs all the good flavour from the lobster and tastes light, fresh and feels very comforting.  I used a rice cooker to make some plain congee before adding the rest of the ingredients.  Make sure the congee is quite thick so it won't be to watery when you add the lobster soup.  By making the plain congee beforehand,  I don't have to stand in front of the pot stirring the congee like I would if making the congee from scratch with a pot.  

Ingredients:

• The lobster head, claws and whatever was not used
• 2 tbsp sliced ginger
• 1 cup white grain rice
• 1 tbsp julienned ginger
• 1 tbsp chopped green onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper powder

Directions:

1. Cook the rice with rice cooker and make a thick congee.  Most rice cookers will have the water levels for porridge made from 1 cup of rice.
2. In a medium pot, add the lobster head, claws and sliced ginger water to cook.  The water should be just covering all the ingredients.  When the soup is boiled, reduce the heat, and then use a soup strainer to strain all the dark bubbles on top of the water.  Reduce the heat to the lowest and simmer for 1 hour.  
3. After the congee is cooked, take a pot, add all the congee, julienned ginger, salt, white pepper powder and 3 cups of the lobster soup to cook.  You can always use more or less soup depending on your preference.  Reduce the heat to lower medium and make sure to keep stirring every few minutes otherwise the rice will stick on the bottom.  Cook for about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl and garnish will chopped green onion.