How to Cook Oyster Congee
If you're looking for a recipe for oyster congee with a smooth, creamy texture and fragrant, tender oysters, this guide will help you prepare a delicious dish suitable for both children and adults.
Ingredients
- 300g fresh oysters
- 210g broken rice
- 70g sticky rice
- 70g split mung beans
- 100g straw mushrooms
- 2 shallots
- 60g green onions
- 20g Vietnamese coriander
- Coarse salt, ginger wine, cornstarch or flour
- Seasonings: Fish sauce, seasoning powder, stock powder, MSG
- Side dishes: Crispy crullers, fried shallots
Ingredient Notes
For the best flavor, buy fresh oysters in the shell and ask the vendor to shuck them for you. This ensures the oysters are fresh, sweet, and economical, costing around 40,000 VND per kg.
Fresh oysters
Alternatively, you can buy pre-shucked oysters, sold in packages at supermarkets or seafood stores.
If cooking oyster congee for adults, use whole grain or broken rice. For younger children, you can grind the rice, sticky rice, and mung beans into a fine powder.
To achieve a smooth texture, use a 3:1 ratio of regular rice to sticky rice.
Broken rice and sticky rice in a 3:1 ratio
Instructions
Prepare the Oysters
To remove the fishy smell from the oysters, rinse them to remove any shell fragments. Then gently rub the oysters with a mixture of white wine, salt, and cornstarch or flour. Rinse thoroughly after cleaning, taking care not to break or damage the oysters.
Prepare Other Ingredients
Rinse the mung beans and soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes to soften. Then, cook the mung beans in a pot with 2 liters of water. Once the water boils, reduce the heat and simmer the mung beans for about 30 minutes until soft.
Trim the ends of the straw mushrooms and remove any dirt, then soak them in salted water before rinsing. Slice them for adults, or finely chop them if cooking for children.
Mince the shallots and finely chop the green onions. Reserve the white parts of the green onions to sauté with the shallots. Chop the Vietnamese coriander.
Cook the Oyster Congee
While waiting for the mung beans to soften, sauté the oysters and mushrooms.
Heat 1-2 teaspoons of oil in a pan and sauté the shallots and the white parts of the green onions. Add 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, then stir in the mushrooms and oysters. Stir gently or toss the pan to evenly coat the ingredients with seasoning, making sure the oysters don't break.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the oysters and mushrooms are done, then transfer them to a bowl.
Once the mung beans are soft, add additional water as needed, roughly 3.5 liters for a medium-thick congee. If you prefer a thinner congee, you can add more water. Add the broken rice and sticky rice to the pot and stir well.
When the congee comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, ensuring a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and to avoid overcooking the grains.
After 35-40 minutes, when the rice starts to break down, add the sautéed oysters and mushrooms to the pot.
Season the congee with seasoning powder, salt, and a bit of fish sauce to taste.
Finally, add the chopped green onions and Vietnamese coriander, and let the congee cook for another 2 minutes before serving.
Serve the congee in a bowl, garnish with fried shallots, ground pepper if desired, and crispy crullers. The congee will have a creamy texture, with the fragrant sweetness of straw mushrooms, mung beans, and oysters, complemented by the crispiness of fried shallots and the freshness of the herbs.
Besides straw mushrooms, you can also cook the congee with vegetables like sweet leaf, chrysanthemum greens, pumpkin, carrots, or eggs. In addition to green onions and Vietnamese coriander, dill can also be added for extra flavor.
Enjoy cooking a delicious oyster congee!
