Fish congee with ginger (薑絲魚片粥)
Silky rice congee with thin slices of white fish and shredded ginger — a warm, easy breakfast for tired days and recovery after a caesarean.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 30 min
- Serves
- 4
Method
- 1
Prepare the rice. Rinse and drain the rice, mix it with the oil and salt and leave for 20 minutes. This helps it break down into a smooth congee.
- 2
Cook the congee. Bring the water to the boil with the ginger slices, add the rice and stir. Boil for 10 minutes, then turn the heat to low, partly cover and simmer for 1 to 1¼ hours, stirring now and then so it doesn't stick, until thick and silky.
- 3
Prepare the fish. Check the slices for bones, then mix them with the cornflour, salt and pepper.
- 4
Cook the fish. Bring the congee back to a rolling boil, add the fish and shredded ginger and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the fish is white and opaque right through. Stir gently so the fish doesn't break up.
- 5
Serve straight away, topped with spring onion, coriander and a few drops of soy sauce.
About this dish
Congee is the Cantonese comfort food: warm, soft and easy to eat when you're tired, have little appetite, or are recovering from a caesarean. In many confinement homes it's breakfast most days, with whatever the 陪月 has to hand — fish, lean pork or chicken.
Tips
- Any firm white fish works. Cod and haddock from a UK supermarket are easy to find and have few bones.
- Make the congee ahead, cook the fish fresh. Plain congee is cooked rice, so treat it like cooked rice: divide it into shallow containers so it cools quickly (ideally within an hour) rather than leaving it in the pot, keep it in the fridge and eat it within 24 hours. Reheat only the portion you need, once, until steaming hot, then add freshly sliced fish.
- Too thick? Stir in a little boiling water.
Sources
About these recipes
- These are traditional home recipes, shared for cultural interest. They are not medical or nutritional advice, and we don’t claim any dish treats, prevents or cures anything.
- If you have allergies, gestational diabetes or a special diet, or take any medicines or herbal remedies, check with your midwife, health visitor, GP or pharmacist before changing what you eat.
- Follow UK food-safety advice: cook meat, fish and eggs thoroughly; cool leftovers and get them into the fridge within 1 to 2 hours; eat them within 2 days; and reheat only once, until steaming hot.
- Some recipes contain alcohol, and cooking doesn’t remove all of it. If you’re breastfeeding, read our guide to ginger vinegar and chicken in rice wine first.
Experienced carers cook dishes like these every day of the confinement month, and adjust them to how you’re feeling.
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