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Easy Chinese Canned Abalone Porridge
5 from 138 votes

Easy Chinese Canned Abalone Porridge

Easy Chinese Canned Abalone Porridge combines jasmine rice simmered in chicken broth with canned abalone, dried scallops, ginger, and optional goji berries and dates. The slow cooking yields a creamy, savory porridge infused with seafood umami and gentle sweetness. Adding small abalone slices toward the end preserves their texture while the dried scallops provide depth. This porridge is comforting and nourishing, often served as a warm breakfast or light meal.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 1609 kcal
Course: Main Course, Breakfast
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Singaporean

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup jasmine rice Rinsed- don't wash till the water runs totally clear as you need the starch for the congee! You can substitute with brown rice (longer cook time) or short-grain white rice (which can reduce the cooking time, white, rinsed
  • 9 Cups chicken broth Substitute: chicken bouillon cube. Top up with plain water if you don't have enough chicken stock.
  • 1 Can abalone Cut into small pieces or thin slices. Add 3-4 Tablespoons into the porridge and keep the rest for stir-fries or noodle soups.
  • 5 dried scallops Soak in hot water for 10 minutes. If you don't have time to soak, don't worry- just boil the porridge over high heat for 1 hour and your scallops will be soft. These give the rice porridge umami and depth of flavour but are quite expensive. (They'll also add a bit of salt to the porridge so taste before seasoning later.) Feel free to substitute with dried conch, dried squid or 1 of these dried scallop alternatives, or conpoy
  • 3-5 lices ginger
  • salt to taste. You can substitute with fish sauce which is not traditional but I love the depth of flavor which goes well with abalone.
  • 1-2 Tablespoon Goji berries Optional. Goji berries are good for your eyes and both make the porridge a little sweeter which helps if you're using unsweetened homemade stock (Shop bought or bouillon cubes are usually heavily seasoned and may not need this.) S
  • 1-2 date Opyional. Note that there is a seed in the middle of the date so you may want to cut it out when it has softened after cooking! Sweetens the porridge naturally and can be substituted with minced carrots or red dates. The red dates have a herbal flavor though.C, honey date
Garnishes
  • sesame oil Drizzle on top of each bowl, optional
  • spring onion Click here for alternatives to green onions, optional, sliced
  • ginger optional, thin sliced
  • shallot optional, fried

Instructions

Quick & Easy method
    Cup of Yum
  1. Add the rinsed rice, dried scallops (along with the soaking water), ginger, abalone juice, honey date (If using) and chicken broth/ water to the pot.
  2. Bring to the boil over high heat.
  3. Once boiling, reduce the fire if necessary. Let it simmer vigorously till cooked to your desired consistency. You may need to top up the water later. Stir it every now and then (or it will burn at the bottom of the pot.) (Cooking will take at least 30 minutes if using white rice.)
  4. 5-10 minutes before you switch off the fire, add the cut up abalone and goji berries (if using) to the pot and cook till it's warmed through. (If adding other proteins such as the fresh shrimps and scallops, add them with the abalone and simmer till cooked.)
  5. Taste and season with salt to taste. A pinch of white pepper is nice but remember the taste can be very strong so less is more here.
  6. Ladle into the bowls- if you wish, you can drizzle some sesame oil on top of each 1, along with some sliced ginger and spring onions (or fried shallots/ fried ikan bills.)
For a more fragrant porridge, do this extra step
  1. Heat up some oil in the pot then stir-fry the ginger and the white part of the spring onions till fragrant.
  2. Add the rinsed rice grains and stir fry for 1 minute. (If using carrots, add them at the same time.)
  3. Pour in all the chicken stock/ water, scallop soaking water, abalone juice and and soaking water / honey date (if using) into the pot. Add the soaked scallops and bring to the boil over high heat.
  4. The rest of the cooking steps follows the quick & easy version above.

Notes

  • Dice the canned abalone into small pieces to infuse more flavor throughout the porridge.
  • Add shredded chicken, fresh shrimp, or scallops to bulk up the porridge and enhance its taste.
  • Since dried scallops add saltiness, taste the porridge before adjusting seasoning.
  • Stir the porridge occasionally while cooking to avoid burning on the pot bottom.
  • Cooking white rice congee takes at least 30 minutes to reach a creamy consistency.

Nutrition Information

Calories 1609kcal (80%) Carbohydrates 135g (45%) Protein 94g (188%) Fat 74g (114%) Saturated Fat 18g (90%) Polyunsaturated Fat 24g (141%) Monounsaturated Fat 29g (145%) Cholesterol 74mg (25%) Sodium 127168mg (5299%) Potassium 1755mg (37%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 94g (188%) Vitamin A 11IU (0%) Vitamin C 6mg (7%) Calcium 1011mg (101%) Iron 6mg (33%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4 people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1609

% Daily Value*

Calories 1609kcal 80%
Carbohydrates 135g 45%
Protein 94g 188%
Fat 74g 114%
Saturated Fat 18g 90%
Polyunsaturated Fat 24g 141%
Monounsaturated Fat 29g 145%
Cholesterol 74mg 25%
Sodium 127168mg 5299%
Potassium 1755mg 37%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 94g 188%
Vitamin A 11IU 0%
Vitamin C 6mg 7%
Calcium 1011mg 101%
Iron 6mg 33%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.