Rice and Sweet Corn Porridge with Dried Scallops

Recipe: Corey Lee's Rice and Sweet Corn Porridge with Dried Scallops

Ingredients

8 small dried scallops (1 ounce; see Note)

6 small dried wood ear mushrooms ( 1/2 ounce; see Note)

2 ears of corn—kernels cut off, cobs cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces

2 quarts plus 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 large chicken thigh (7 ounces)

One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1 celery rib, sliced 1/2 inch thick, plus 1/2 cup celery leaves

1 1/2 cups short grain or sushi rice, rinsed

1 tablespoon tamari

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt

Directions

1. Put the scallops and mushrooms in 2 small separate bowls and cover with water. Let stand at room temperature overnight.

2. In a small saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the corn kernels until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.

3. In a large saucepan, combine the chicken broth, corn cobs, chicken thigh, ginger and sliced celery and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, 30 minutes. Strain the broth and reserve the chicken thigh. You should have about 5 1/2 cups of broth.

4. Preheat the oven to 325°. Measure out 1 cup of the broth and reserve. In a 3- to 4-quart casserole or Dutch oven, combine the remaining 4 1/2 cups of broth with the rice and bring to a simmer over moderate heat. Cover and bake for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender and a thick porridge has formed.

5. Drain the scallops and transfer to a small saucepan. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the scallops to a plate. Remove any membranes, then thickly shred the scallops; cover. Add the tamari to the cooking liquid in the pan and cover.

6. Drain the mushrooms and cut off the knob ends. Cut the mushrooms into 1/2-inch pieces. Remove the meat from the chicken thigh and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Add the chicken, mushrooms, corn, the remaining 1/2 cup of reserved broth, half of the celery leaves and the cheese to the porridge. Season with salt.

7. Spoon the porridge into bowls. Top with a little of the scallop-tamari broth. Scatter the shredded scallop and remaining celery leaves over the porridge and serve.

(Paid $13 for 8 dried scallops in SF Chinatown. Gulp.  Next time I'm so taking a Chinese speaking friend with me.  Update!  Here's what my Chinese coworker said after seeing the 8 little guys... "I think they are worth $13.  I almost paid $25 for a small bag of top quality dried scallops.")