Spinach porridge

It was my neighborhood friend Gary who introduced me to spinach porridge. I tried it at his suggestion and have not turned back. Many people, young and old, had balked at the idea of cooking spinach in rice. I am not very particularly fond of rice porridge but I liked this spinach broth and I think you might too. It is easy to cook, nutritious and so pleasant to eat.

You will need about 250 gm of spinach. You could use the normal spinach or baby spinach. At the last cooking, I opted for baby spinach. I do find that using normal spinach produces a better spinach flavour in the porridge.

 

 Wash and cut the spinach into small pieces like so...

Boil the spinach in a pot of water for 2 to 3 minutes and let it cool. Do not discard the water. Use the spinach favoured water to cook the porridge.

 

Use half a cup (about 100 gm) of uncooked white rice. Wash, then mix the rice in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Marinate the rice in the oil for about 30 minutes.

 

You will need about 50 gm of baby conpoy or dried scallops (干瑶柱). The quantity is really up to you. If you like more flavour, use more. 50 gm is just nice for me. You could use the normal conpoy. I normally go for baby conpoy because it is a lot cheaper and taste just as good.

 

Pour everything -  spinach (and water), rice and scallops into a rice cooker. Add water to about the 1.5 litre level. Again, the amount water is your preference. I like my porridge to be light and dilute. If you prefer a thicker broth, you may want to reduce the water. Do not forget to select the rice cooker to porridge mode.

 

Cook for about 2 hours. Your effort will look something like this..

 

Add some salt to taste. The above recipe is for 3 persons - including second helpings. Adjust your ingredients for more servings.

 

You can eat the spinach porridge on its own. It has enough flavour. Or you can eat with simple accompaniments like salted egg or Chinese pickled lettuce. It makes a very pleasant light meal. I cook it once awhile to get away from the monotony of the usual rice.