In Vietnamese, I call this creamy soup cháo cá uốp gừng với hành. It originally published in my book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen (2006, Ten Speed Press). I tweaked it for VWK.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
⅔cuplong-grain or short-grain white rice
8cupslightly salted chicken stock,or 6 cups lightly salted chicken broth plus 2 cups water
4slicesof gingereach about ⅛ inch thick, the size of a quarter, smacked
2green onions,white parts only (save the green part for garnishing the soup)
12ouncesfresh white fish fillet,such as rockfish, sea bass, sole, cod or baramundi
⅓cupthinly sliced shallot,or ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
Chubby 1-inch section ginger,peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
2tablespoonschopped cilantro
2 ½tablespoonsapple cider vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar
2tablespoonsfish sauce
1tablespooncanola or other neutral oil
½teaspoonsugar
¼teaspoonfine sea salt
¼cupthinly sliced green onion, green parts only
Freshly ground black pepper,for garnish
Instructions
Put the rice in a heavy-bottom saucepan and fill it with water to cover by 1 inch. Stir the rice with your hand 8 to10 times around and then carefully pour out the milky water. Add the stock, ginger, and green onion. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pan. The rice should be gently bouncing in the bubbling water.
After 5 minutes, stir the rice and reduce the heat to low. Make sure the porridge simmers softly and does not boil over, or you will lose the precious starch that makes it creamy. Continue cooking, partially covered for about 1 hour, or until the rice has broken down and becomes suspended in the soup. The porridge will be creamy white with little separation between rice and liquid. Discard the ginger and green onion. The porridge may be made a day in advance and reheated over a low flame with a bit of water to prevent scorching. It may thicken considerably after cooling but so add water to thin it out.
While the porridge cooks (or slowly reheats if you made it ahead of time), marinate the fish. Thinly slice the fish at a 45-degree angle into pieces about ⅛ inch thick, 1 by 2 inches long. Rinse the shallot under running water for about 10 seconds, then drain well. In a bowl, combine the fish, shallot, ginger, cilantro vinegar, fish sauce, oil, sugar, and salt. Use your hands or a spatula to mix gently. Cover and let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature; the fish will turn slightly opaque. The fish may be refrigerated up to 8 hours but should sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before using.
Divide the marinated fish among the soup bowls. Bring the porridge to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Ladle the hot soup over the fish. Garnish green onion and black pepper. Stir up the fish to finish its cooking and blend flavors before eating.
Notes
Make the soup in a pressure cooker by using 7 cups of liquid and high pressure for 15 minutes, then let depressurize naturally for 20 minutes before releasing pressure. Stir up the rice and simmer a little more, if needed to create a creamier finish. Have Vietnamese Food Any Day? Check page 71 and use leftover rice and the Super Simple Overnight Rice Porridge recipe (my lazy person's porridge).Miss nothing. SUBSCRIBE to my recipes, posts + newsletter!