Tilapia Brown Rice Porridge-Momofuku Inspired

4.30.10

I'm sure some of you have heard of David Chang and Momofuku. For those of you who haven't heard of him -- he's awesome! He's a master of noodle and ramen. I came across his name and restaurants in NYC but didn't really look into it until I found Momofuku for 2 food blog on FoodBuzz. Then I saw the food, photos, and some great recipes. This really got me into Momofuku and made me realize that I needed to get this cookbook.

As soon as I got the book, I started reading it page by page. I like the fact that the book tells the story and is sort of a biography of David Chang; unlike some cookbooks that feed you with only recipes. I must say his life is adventurous, interesting, and inspiring. I'm sucked into his story, recipes, and all that. However, here's a warning from me - Don't read the book in the late night. It really makes you hungry and craving for good ramen!..Can you imagine it happening at late night?..yep, that's what happened to me. I've been craving ramen all week and some friends thought I must have been pregnant! Shoot me.

One of his secret ingredients in a broth is smoky bacon. You heard me right-- it's smoky bacon in a broth. It's interesting, isn't it? To make good ramen, 4 things are important: broth, noodle, meat, and toppings.

I was going to make fish porridge that night...but after reading the chapter of noodle..

Okay, I don't know how to make broth from scratch (yet). I don't know how to make noodle. (and not dare to start). I don't know how to roast Momofuku meat (yet). I can play around with toppings.

This is what I have for my fish porridge and I can still eat healthy

Broth: Smoked bacon + seafood stock+ chicken stock

Meat: Tilapia fillets - as I had been to wanting to cook this fish one of these days

Noodle: Brown rice (gluten-free)

Toppings: Green onion+ cilantro + fried shallot

Sounds good?

This portion isn't 4 cups of brown rice. It's for a photo purpose.

Rich, smokey, and deep in flavor stock

Tilapia Brown Rice Porridge-Momofuku Inspired

Yield: 6 bowls of porridge

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb tilapia fillets, cut in 2-inch piece

2 32oz. carton seafood stock

1 32 oz. carton chicken stock-no salt added

4-6 slices smokey bacon

2 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon black or white pepper

Crushed chili flake (optional)

4 cups cooked brown rice

lots of shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)

Chopped green onion (both white and green part) and cilantro for topping

Canola Oil

Paper towel to absorb excess oil

Directions:

• Heat up your pot at medium high heat. When it's hot, place bacon and cook till it starts to get a little crispy. Turn them over to cook the other side. Don't crispy them as we will add stock to smokey flavor
• You will see oil from bacon now. Transfer oil to a pan, not all, but leave about 1 teaspoon in the pot. Set aside.
• Add seafood stock, chicken stock, soy sauce, pepper, and sugar. Bring it to boil. Simmer it with a lid on for about 15 mins.  Remove bacons. You can save the stock at this stage. Cover it and put it in a fridge. It can be saved for up to 3 days.
• In the meantime, heat up oil from bacon. If you don't have enough, add canola oil. The amount of oil should be enough to pan fry shallots. Stir once in a while so that it won't get burnt. When shallots turn light brown, remove them by using a slotted spoon and leave them on prepared paper towel. This is about 10 mins or so. The remaining can be saved in a fridge up to a week.
• Add fish in the pot as we will cook it in there to add flavor to the fish itself and to the stock Cook about 5 mins and use a slotted spoon to scoop it out. Set aside. You can save it and put it in the fridge.

I love these fried shallots. I double made them and save them in a fridge

How to put it together:

• It tastes better when you finish it the same day, otherwise the rice will soak up all the soup and it doesn't taste that great
• This is what I do: If you think you're going to make only 2 bowls tonight, pour stock into a medium saucepan. Bring it to boil. Add rice, let it simmer for 15 mins with the lid on.
• Add fish, let it continue simmering for another 10 mins.
• Add 1 tablespoon of chopped green onion and cilantro. Turn heat off. Let it sit for a few mins.
• Scoop to a bowl and top with 1/2 tablespoon of fried shallots and 1 teaspoon of chopped green onion and cilantro.

Note: If you save stock in a fridge, you will see white fat on top. It's fat. Scoop that out before reheating the stock. The amount of topping can be adjusted to your preference