Best Jook Recipes

CHINESE PORRIDGE (CONGEE OR JOOK)

Steps:

• Place rice into a container and cover with several inches of cool water; let soak 8 hours to overnight. Drain.
• Soak dried mushrooms in a bowl of warm water until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain and slice into strips.
• Bring 4 cups water and drained rice to a boil in a pot. Cook until rice breaks down into a thick and mushy consistency, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a slow cooker.
• Bring 4 cups water and turkey carcass to a boil in a large pot. Simmer until broth forms, about 45 minutes. Skim fat from the surface of the broth.
• Strain turkey broth into the slow cooker. Pull meat off the carcass and shred; transfer to a bowl. Mix in soy sauce. Discard turkey bones.
• Stir mushrooms, 1 cup boiling water, garlic, salted turnip, and ginger into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low for 4 to 5 hours.
• Soak dried bean curd in a bowl of warm water until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with running water. Break up bean curd into bite-sized pieces.
• Stir bean curd pieces into the slow cooker. Cook on High for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spoon congee into individual bowls. Top with 2 tablespoons of turkey meat and peanuts.

CONGEE (JOOK): ASIAN TURKEY RICE SOUP

Steps:

• Break up the carcass into a large soup pot or Dutch oven.
• Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
• Add the rice (it does not need to be washed first if it is American style).
• (The more rice you use, the thicker the soup will be.) Bring it again to a boil.
• Then turn down the heat and simmer until thickened (at least one hour).
• Remove the bones and scrape off any meat to return it to the pot.
• Add salt, pepper and soy sauce (sparingly) to taste.
• To serve: placed chopped green onions, soy sauce and sesame seed oil (a few drops) into a serving bowl.
• Ladle in the congee (jook) and use your choice of the garnishes to add flavor and color to the dish.

JOOK

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.

JOOK

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.

TURKEY JOOK

Steps:

• Simmer rice, 3 scallions, turkey carcass (break into pieces if necessary), half of ginger, and water in a 6-to 8-quart heavy pot, covered, stirring occasionally, until soup has a creamy, porridge-like consistency, 50 minutes to 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice remaining 3 scallions and julienne remaining ginger.
• Discard turkey bones. Serve jook sprinkled with scallions and ginger.

CHICKEN JOOK WITH LOTS OF VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place chicken in hot oil, season with salt and ground black pepper and cook until well-browned, about 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken and set aside. Add scallions, ginger, garlic, and jalapeno pepper to the pot; cook until soft, about 2 minutes.
• Pour water and rice into pot; bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Cover the pot partially and cook for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom.
• Stir chicken into soup and cover partially. Continue to cook until the soup is creamy with a porridge-like consistency, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.
• Remove chicken, pull meat from bones, and return meat to the pot. Stir in cabbage, snow peas, bean sprouts, soy sauce, and sesame oil; cook until vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Garnish jook with cilantro.

TURKEY AND RICE CONGEE (JOOK)

Steps:

• Put slow cooker liner into slow cooker.
• Place the rice, turkey wings, water, salt, ginger, carrots, celery, and mushrooms into the slow cooker.
• Stir well.
• Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce the temperature to LOW and cook for 6 to 8 hours, until creamy, thick, and translucent white in consistency.
• Remove and discard the ginger.
• Remove the turkey wing and place on a plate to cool for 15 minutes.
• Remove and discard the skin.
• Pick the meat off the bones and discard the bones; return the meat to the soup.
• Taste test; add soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Keep WARM until ready to serve, with bowls of cilantro, green onion, and peanuts on the side for garnish choices.

CHICKEN JOOK

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.

JOOK (CHINESE BREAKFAST RICE SOUP)

Steps:

• Wash the rice in a colander until the water runs clear; soak rice in water to cover for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a slow cooker set on HIGH.
• Drain, rinse, and drain the rice one last time.
• Add the rice to the hot oil and cook, stirring, until the rice is well coated with oil and smells toasty (about 5 minutes).
• Add in the stock all at once, then the salt and cilantro stems.
• Stir well, cover, turn cooker temperature to LOW, and cook 8-9 hours or overnight.
• To finish the jook, stir it well because the liquid and rice may have separated.
• If you want your jook thicker, turn the cooker on HIGH, cover and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours more, stirring occasionally.
• The soup will become thick and white; add the soy milk now, if desired, for an ultra-creamy consistency.
• To serve, set out small bowls of chopped cilantro leaves and minced green onion with a choice of oyster sauce, soy sauce, and hot sauce.

RICE PORRIDGE (CONGEE/JOOK/OKAYU) RICE COOKER W/PORK & CORN

Steps:

• Measurements are approximate, adjust as needed. 100 g ground pork is about 1/4 lb. 100 g sweet corn is about 3.5 oz.
• If rice cooker has a porridge/congee/jook/okayu function, you can use that (though you may want to adjust the water for your desired consistency). You can also use a slow cooker/crock pot, but it will take more like 4-5 hours.
• Add water, rice, minced garlic, minced ginger, soy sauce, oyster sauce and black pepper to the rice cooker and turn it on (choosing the porridge/congee/jook/okayu function if it has one or just "cook" if not) and stir occasionally to break up the rice. It should take about 45-60 minutes.
• (optional) Brown and crumble the ground pork in a frying pan until done and add the corn, cooking until warm.
• When the rice is ready, mix in the pork and corn (or other ingredients, if any).
• Serve in bowls and top with scallions.

TURKEY JOOK

Steps:

• Remove excess skin from the turkey carcass but leave any browned, crispy pieces for additional flavor. To help fit the carcass into a pot, cut it in half, breaking it across the back-bone along the ribs. Place the halves in a large stockpot and add the cold water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, skimming the scum that rises to the top. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Rinse the rice well in several changes of water until water runs clear. Add the rice to the pot. Bring back to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the ginger. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally. (Low heat and stirring are important to avoid scorching as the jook thickens.).
• Remove the carcass and skin from the jook. Discard bones and skin. Shred any large pieces of meat or cut into bite size pieces and return them to the soup. Add the salt and simmer for about 30 minutes, until a good consistency is reached. (something like a light- to medium- bodied cream of wheat). Finish with the sesame oil.
• Serve with small dishes of garnishes and condiments.

QUICK RICE JOOK

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine rice, broth, water, and ginger.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until rice is soft and broth is slightly creamy, about 20 to 25 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine beef and cornstarch.
• Using a whisk, mix beef into jook.
• Cook until beef is no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes.
• Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

JOOK

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.

CHICKEN JOOK

Steps:

• Rinse the rice until the water runs clear & put in slow cooker.
• Add everything to slow cooker.
• Set on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
• Stir before serving.
• Garnish with diced green onions, shoyu, salt, white pepper, even leftover chicken or turkey meat.
• The bones will still be in soup so sip slowly!

CROCK POT JOOK

Steps:

• Wash the rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Soak in enough water to cover for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oil in the slow cooker set on HIGH. Drain, rinse, and drain rice again. Add the rice to the hot oil and cook, stirring until the rice is well coated with oil and smells toasty, about 5 minutes.
• Add the stock all at once, then the salt and cilantro stems. Stir well, cover, turn the cooker to LOW, and cook, 8 to 9 hours or overnight.
• To finish the jook, stir it well if it has separated. If you want it thicker, cover, turn cooker to HIGH, and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 more hours, stirring occasionally. Add milk now if you want an extra-creamy porridge.
• To serve, sprinkle over chopped cilantro leaves, minced green onions, salty potato chips, or your seasoning sauce of choice.

XIAOYANGJU'S FISH JOOK (RICE PORRIDGE)

Steps:

• Combine the water, rice, ginger, and bouillon granules in 6-quart Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until rice is tender and mixture is creamy and thick, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove ginger pieces and discard.
• Meanwhile, put fish, green onions, and pepper in a bowl. Let marinate 15 minutes.
• Stir fish mixture and salt into the pot. Simmer gently until rice is very soft and fish is falling apart, about 20 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt if desired. Stir in cilantro.