Tofu Skin & Gingko Congee 腐皮白果粥

It’s been a while since I had this and when I went grocery shopping nearly two weeks ago, I picked up some 白果 gingko nuts. Usually, this kind of congee is made with 腐竹 instead of 腐皮, but that’s all that I had in my pantry. The nice thing about the flat version of tofu skin is that it cooks very fast so you don’t have to worry about old ones taking more time to rehydrate.

This classic is one of the more common kinds of Cantonese congee. One thing to know though is from the medicinal properties of gingko being cleansing, it’s not to be eaten too often and if you have “cold” illnesses such as a cold, then eating this can make symptoms like dizziness worse. Gingko nuts MUST be eaten cooked as they’re among some foods that are poisonous when they are raw. Even when cooked, you should not eat too much at at time as they can become toxic as well. Small amounts are fine.

When I got this recipe from my parents, they mentioned a two bits of information about making congee. They say to soak the rice overnight so it cooks more easily. The other is to add the rice to the pot only after the water comes to a boil. This step is to prevent any rice from sticking at the bottom of the pot. The funny thing is that I never did that and I’ve never had an issue of rice sticking at the bottom of my pot. I’ve always made it in small amounts like single or two servings where as they make very large batches for a family. So these appear to be adjustments to cook in a large pot compared to a small pot.

The other interesting thing is that they said at restaurants, they’ve seen a lot of times when chefs will add a corn starch slurry to the congee to thicken it while slightly reducing the rice so save money. They said it simulates the thickness of long cooked congee, but I think it’s a really clever trick that can also be done at home if you like the texture. The only thing to know is that if you have congee like this, you cannot let it sit around very long. Over time, the cooked slurry will break and become very watery.

Normally, out at restaurants you’d probably have this congee with dim sum, potstickers, and with 油条 fried cruller. But at home you can just have it like this and it’s really comforting.

The recipe below is how I make and if you make it for a family, I recommend following what my parents do of soaking the rice overnight in water as well as adding the rice after the water has come to a boil. The way I do it is out of laziness so it’s one less thing to wash.

RECIPE: Makes 2 large bowls

1/2 c rice
5 c water
About 20 gingko nuts, cleaned and de-skinned
2 sheets of 腐皮 tofu skin
1 piece of 陈皮 aged tangerine peel (optional)
Salt to taste

Overnight, soak the 腐皮 tofu skin in a large bowl of water.

On the morning of making the congee, first take your gingko nuts and gently crack them open with and peel the skin. You can use a mallet or hammer, but my folks used the bottom of rice bowls to do this as well. Soak the gingko nuts in water after the shell has been removed and rub off the skins with your fingers. It’s easier to use your fingernails to gently scratch off the skin.

Remove the soaked 腐皮 tofu skin from the bowl and squeeze it to remove any excess water. Slice into small bite sized pieces.

In a large pot, rinse the rice and drain the water.

Add the 5 cups of water, gingko nuts, 腐皮 tofu skin, 陈皮 aged tangerine peel (optional), and salt to taste.

Bring this to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water boils, give a quick stir, drop the heat to the lowest setting and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve right away. For myself, I made 2 servings which I save the second bowl to be microwaved for an easy and healthy breakfast the next day.