Friday, December 5, 2008

Peanut Porridge

(serves 2)

    One of my favourite childhood foods was peanut porridge. I remember back in the 1980s, there was an elderly couple at the hawker centre near my parents' place who sold bee hoon and peanut porridge. A ricebowl's worth of their viscous and savoury porridge with soft peanuts was so filling and satisfying. My mum would cook it now and then and I would remember her putting the pot on top of a small red stove on the floor. The peanuts in my recipe don't turn out as soft though - the peanuts would need about 2-3hrs of boiling to achieve that soft nostalgic texture :)




Ingredients:
1/2 cup white rice (washed)
5 cups water (water:rice = 10:1)
100g Shandong groundnuts
100g minced pork (I use 五花肉 - pork shoulder collar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon light soya sauce
1 teaspoon cooking oil
White pepper (in shaker)

    Steps:
  1. Put rice in pot and scatter salt, light soya sauce and oil evenly on top.

  2. Put groundnuts and water in pot.

  3. Place pot in Healsio oven and use SUPER ROAST mode at 200°C for 60mins.

  4. (During this time, I would take out my minced pork from the freezer and cut out the required weight.) Place the meat in a bowl and cover with hot water.

  5. When the oven is done, remove pot and stir the porridge.

  6. Take out the minced pork and squeeze out the water before putting in the pot (the pork would easily come apart by this time).

  7. Place pot back in oven and use OVEN mode at 250°C for 15mins. (I did not use SUPER ROAST again as it would ask me to refill the water tank.)

  8. Remove pot from oven.

  9. Before serving, put 20 shakes of pepper evenly on top and stir to mix well.

Notes:
- Cooking time (minus preparation): 1hr 15mins
- Power Consumption (w/o draining): 2.75kWh