Jook Recipes

Steps:

• Wash rice, and put it in a stock pot with chicken stock or water. Place over high heat until stock boils, then add about 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, and turn heat to low. Partly cover pot, simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as necessary (probably about 2 cups more).
• Add ginger and slab bacon, and simmer for an hour more or so. Jook should have a porridgelike consistency. If it becomes very thick, add water. When done, jook will be soupy and creamy, like loose oatmeal.
• Remove slab bacon, and serve jook in individual bowls. Season with salt or soy sauce, then garnish with minced bacon, scallions and peanuts. Drizzle with sesame oil if desired.

Steps:

• Combine chicken, broth, rice, 1 piece of ginger, white and light-green parts of scallions, 8 cups water, and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and partially cover. Cook at a bare simmer, stirring a few times, until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest piece of chicken near but not touching the bone registers 160 degrees (the temperature will rise to 165 degrees as chicken rests), 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
• Continue simmering porridge until rice breaks down and mixture is creamy, 45 to 55 minutes more. Remove and discard ginger and scallions. Peel remaining piece of ginger and julienne. Thinly slice scallion tops. Remove skin and bones from chicken, shred meat into bite-size pieces, and stir any accumulated juices from plate into porridge. Place chicken in bottom of serving bowls, spoon over porridge, top with ginger and scallion, drizzle with sesame and chili oils, and season with pepper to serve.

Steps:

• Cut off scallion greens and reserve greens separately from white and pale green parts. Cut ginger in half crosswise and smash 1 piece with flat side of a large heavy knife, reserving remaining piece. Wrap smashed piece of ginger, cilantro, and white and pale green parts of scallion in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with string.
• Rinse chicken inside and out and put in a 4-to 6-quart heavy pot along with cheesecloth bundle, salt, and water, then bring to a simmer, covered. Cook, covered, 15 minutes.
• Turn off heat and measure out and reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, then cover pot again. Pour reserved liquid into a small bowl and add dried scallops. (Scallops should be completely submerged.) Soak until softened, about 30 minutes.
• While scallops are soaking, let chicken stand in cooking liquid, covered, 30 minutes. (Chicken will be cooked through.) Carefully remove chicken from liquid with tongs, then transfer chicken to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil. Discard cheesecloth bundle from cooking liquid, reserving liquid.
• Rinse long-grain and Chinese sticky rice briefly in a sieve, then add to pot with chicken-cooking liquid.
• Shred scallops into fine threads with a fork or your fingers, discarding tough muscle from side of each scallop if attached. Add scallop threads and scallop-soaking liquid to rice mixture and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until jook is very thick, about 1 hour.
• While rice is simmering, discard skin from chicken and remove meat in large pieces, then cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces.
• Cut reserved ginger into thin matchsticks and chop reserved scallion greens.
• Divide chicken among 6 serving bowls, then ladle jook over chicken. Sprinkle ginger and scallions over jook and serve with accompaniments.

Steps:

• Wash rice put in a stock pot with chicken stock or wather.
• Bring to the boil over high heat and add 4 cups water.
• Bring back to the boil, then turn heat to low.
• Partly cover pot, simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water as neccessary (Probably 2 cups more).
• Add ginger and bacon, if using, and simmer for about an hour.
• Jook should have a porridge-like cosistency.
• If it becames very thick, add water.
• When done, it will be soupy and creamy.
• Remove the bacon slab, and serve jook seasoned with salt or soy sauce, then garnished with minced bacon, spring onions and peanuts.
• Drizzle with sesame oil, if desired.

Steps:

• Wash rice. Put in stockpot with stock or water. Place over high heat until it boils. Then add another 1 quart of water (4 cups). Bring to a boil again, then turn the heat to low.
• Partially cover the pot. Simmer for about 90 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure rice isn't sticking. Add ginger and slab bacon. Simmer for another hour. The jook should have a porridge-like consistency so if if it gets too thick too quickly, turn down heat and stir in some more water. When it is done, it will be soupy and creamy.
• Remove slab bacon. Serve it in individual bowls, garnish with scallion, crisply cooked bacon bits and peanuts. Drizzle with the sesame oil.
• JOOK WITH VEGETABLES: Soak 4 or 5 dried shiitake mushrooms in hot water until softened. Remove stems; chop. Omit slab bacon. Add mushrooms along with the ginger and 2 finely diced carrots. When it is almost done, stir in 1 Celsius fresh or frozen peas. Cook 10 more minutes. Garnish with same stuff and serve.
• JOOK WITH MEAT: Cut the ginger into thin slivers instead of chopping it. Add it along with along with 1/2 lb. sirloin, sliced, or 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced, during the last 15 minutes of simmering.
• JOOK WITH SEAFOOD: In the last 30 minutes of simmering, add 1/4 lb. cleaned squid, sliced. During last 5 minutes, add 1/4 lb. peeled, cleaned shrimp and 1/4 lb. firm white fish (skinned and sliced). You know, I think a one-lb pkg of seafood mix would work in this; okay, maybe with 1/4 of it removed. You would have to thaw it out beforehand and separate the squid so that you could put it in at the appropriate time by itself. (Discard the liquid that comes off from defrosting.) Seafood mix is available in the frozen seafood section.