Savory Taiwanese Congee/Rice Porridge (Giam Mwe)
- camissonia
- Oct 14
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 19
Taiwanese congee or rice porridge is usually cooked plain (just rice and water) or with some diced sweet potato, but another traditional version called "Giam Mue" (translated as "salty" rice porridge) includes savory ingredients like shiitake mushrooms, tiny dried shrimp, celery, fried shallots, and ginger. My mom makes a delicious version, but since I don't have her exact recipe, this is my take on it. I've gone off the rez a bit by adding ground pork but, hey, everything's better with pork, right?
1
Note on the sauce:
*Calrose rice is my favorite for making rice porridge. It's a medium grain rice with a slightly sticky texture. Feel free to substitute with another medium grain rice variety.
Notes
1
Combine the rice, water, 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. of Hondashi in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 hour or until the porridge is very thick, but not pasty (add additional water if needed).
2
In the meantime, place the dried shiitakes and shrimp into a medium bowl and cover with hot water. Let sit for about 20-30 minutes until softened. Once softened, dice the mushroom caps (discard the stems) and finely chop the shrimp; set aside.
3
Heat a medium skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork (no need to add oil to the pan first) and break up with a potato masher. Once the pork is about halfway cooked through, add the chopped rehydrated shrimp, diced shiitakes, fried shallots, ginger, celery, scallions, cilantro, white pepper, soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil. Stir-fry for 30 seconds or until the pork is cooked through.
4
Add the pork mixture to the rice porridge and stir well to combine. Add an additional 2 tsp. of kosher salt to the porridge, or according to your taste. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes, covered; stir in the bonito shavings.
5
Ladle the hot congee into individual serving bowls and garnish with sliced yiu tiao pieces, scallions and/or cilantro
Instructions
2 cups rice*
16 cups water
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp Hondashi (optional)
2 tbsp small dried shrimp (He bi)
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 lb ground pork
1 cup fried shallots
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
2 ribs celery cut into small dice
3 scallions chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro (including stems)
2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 packets (2.5 g each) bonito shavings
Chopped cilantro
Chopped scallions
Yiu Tiao (Chinese donuts)
Optional Garnishes
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Savory Taiwanese Congee/Rice Porridge (Giam Mwe)
Prep Time
15 min
Cooking Time
1 hour 30 min
Rest Time
0
Total Time
1 hour 45 min
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