Easy Chinese Seafood congee with shrimp/ prawn

Marinade for prawns

• 8.8 oz Fresh Shrimp or prawns, shelled and deveined (250g) Keep the shells! (See Step A below)- if your prawns come without shells, go directly to Step B. You can also add other seafood such as squid, clams and fish but note that they take different amounts of time to cook, so add them at different periods of time. (Add the ones that take the longest to cook first.)
• 1 Tablespoon sesame oil Pour the marinade into the pot of congee too when adding the seafood.
• ½ Tablespoon shao xing wine As above

For the congee

• 15 Cups water You can substitute with chicken or seafood stock. Note that you will need a HUGE pot. (If using 1 of the "quick cook" congee methods mentioned in the post above, such as freezing and blending the rice, you may not need so much water as the rice will break down more quickly.)
• 1½ Cups white rice I used Calrose but you can use long-grain jasmine or sushi rice. Some people feel that using short-grain rice helps shorten the cooking time as the starch is released more quickly.
• 10-15 dried scallops (conpoy), rinsed and soaked in hot water for at least 30 minutes Add the soaking water to the pot of congee. To save money, use broken up conpoy which is cheaper- the scallops will be broken up during the cooking process anyway. For substitutes, see notes.
• 2 Honey dates, rinsed then soaked in hot water for at least 30 minutes Add the soaking water to the pot of congee. These have large seeds in the middle which you may want to remove after cooking, before serving. Substitute: ⅛ teaspoon white sugar or to taste
• 2 thin slices ginger Wash but don't stress about peeling!
• 1- 1½ Tablespoons Shaoxing wine
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce Used to create extra umami (especially if not cooking with stock), but if you don't have it just use salt

Seasonings- add after cooking the prawns in the congee

• ½-¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste Do not substitute with black pepper, they're not the same thing. White pepper is super strong so less is more here!

Optional garnishing

• Thinly julienned ginger, chopped spring onions, fried garlic, fried shallots, a bit of light soy sauce etc
• Drizzle of sesame oil over each bowl