Lettuce and mud carp fish ball congee
A congee-shop classic: springy mud carp fish balls simmered in plain congee and poured over shredded lettuce — light, clean and cooling without being cold.
- 45 min
- Serves 2
- Simmer
- Medium
Why it suits you: Damp heat rises after Start of Summer, and a Damp-heat constitution tends towards a bitter taste, bad breath, oily skin and breakouts. Mud carp strengthens the spleen and drains damp without being heating, lettuce clears heat and plain congee is light — a neighbourhood congee-shop favourite, cleaner still when made at home with less salt and oil.
Method
Prep 15 min · Cook 30 min- 1Rinse the rice and toss with a pinch of salt and the oil. Add to boiling water, boil hard for 10 minutes, then simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes until creamy.
- 2Mix the fish paste with the coriander and 1 tbsp water, stirring in one direction until springy, then squeeze out small balls with wet hands.
- 3Season the congee with the salt and ginger, drop in the fish balls one by one and simmer over medium heat for 3 minutes until they float and turn white.
- 4Line the bowls with the lettuce, ladle over the boiling congee and scatter with the spring onion.
Cautions
- Market fish paste is usually pre-salted, so cut back on salt in the congee; if you have gout, keep fish moderate.
Chef's tips
- Beat the paste until springy before shaping for bouncy fish balls, and keep the congee at a medium simmer once they go in — a rolling boil can split them.
The TCM view
Mud carp is sweet and neutral, strengthening the spleen, boosting qi and promoting urination. Lettuce is sweet and cool, clearing heat and promoting urination. Rice is sweet and neutral, nourishing the stomach and generating fluids. Coriander is pungent and warm, rousing the spleen and removing fishiness, and a little ginger warms the stomach so the dish isn't too cold for the spleen. Clearing without being cold — suited to Damp-heat.
