Zosui, some might also call it congee or porridge. The basic idea is the same, they're all sort of soupy rice dish that can either stand on its own or serve together with other side dishes. While some variations start with uncooked rice, zosui on the other hand, is made with pre-cooked rice or even leftover rice.
The liquid part is taken care of by using half chicken stock and half water. On top of that, with the help from steamed salmon juice and aromatic shiso leaves, this salmon and shiso zosui is one kick-ass recipe that my entire family adores.
Salmon and shiso zosui -
Ingredients (about 7 to 8 portions)?
- 2 boneless skinless salmon fillet
- 3 rice measuring cups short grain white rice
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 6 cups water
- 20 shiso leaf
- 1 pack/120 grams white shimeji mushroom
- 1 pack/120 grams brown shimeji mushroom
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
How?
Pre-cook 3 rice measuring cups of rice. Once ready, fluff and set aside for later use. You can also use leftover rice instead. However, this recipe will give you a big pot of zosui in the end, and I would imagine it's unlikely to have that much leftover rice in any regular circumstances. In that case, use half or even 1/3 of the ingredients listed for smaller yield.
Steam the salmon till fully cooked through. Set aside till cool enough to handle by hand. Break the salmon into smaller pieces and save all the juice on the bottom. I ended up having 2 full cups of prepped salmon.
Trim-off the stems for the mushrooms and separate them into individual pieces. Julienne shiso leaves. Beat the eggs and set aside for later use.
Use a big pot and pour in 6 cups of chicken stock and 6 cups of water. You can play with the chicken stock to water ratio, but I prefer half and half to keep it flavorful enough while not overpowering other delicate ingredients.
Bring the liquid to a boil and add in the mushroom, cook for about 1 minute.
Add in pre-cooked rice and bring it up to a boil again. Once boiling, lower the heat to keep it at a light bubbling stage. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
Note that the consistency might appear too water at first, but keep in mind that it'll soon thicken up.
Mix in the salmon flakes along with all the steamed juice. Also add in 1 tablespoon of salt. Mix a little, taste and see if more salt is needed. Adjust accordingly.
Mix in most of the shiso leaves and 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper powder. Switch to low heat and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes.
Turn-off the heat and pour in beaten egg. Make sure the zosui is not too hot, but not completely cooled down either when adding the egg. We need the residual warmth to just slightly cooking the egg. Stir the zosui to evenly spread out yellow streak.
Scoop to serving bowls and garnish with the remaining shiso that we saved earlier.
If you prefer a thinner consistency, use two more cups of liquid, that means a total of 14 cups of liquid in the end.
The zosui will thicken up as time passes by but no worries. If you have any leftover zosui, simply add some more liquid before heating it up again. Hot water will do, but even better with chicken stock because it won't dilute the flavor as much.
Extended reading:
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