Preparation
10 minutes
Cooking
35 minutes
Difficulty
Easy
Porridge is a simple dish but brings many benefits to the body, providing a lot of nutrition especially for the elderly and young children. Let’s cook a pumpkin shrimp porridge using a multifunctional blender that is simple and nutritious.
Ingredients for Pumpkin Shrimp Porridge using a multifunctional blender Serves 3
White rice 150 gr (1 cup) Sticky rice 150 gr (1 cup) Fresh shrimp 100 gr Pumpkin 100 gr Carrot 1/2 piece Fresh lotus seeds 50 gr Salt 1/8 teaspoon
How to choose fresh ingredients
How to choose fresh shrimp
- Shrimp shell: Choose shrimp with a transparent outer shell that has a characteristic seafood smell, no sour odor, and no dark or inconsistent colors. The outer shell of the shrimp should be dry, not slimy.
- Shrimp shape: Fresh shrimp will have a straight body; shrimp that have been stored for a long time will bend. The body of the shrimp should be firm, not soft and mushy.
- Shrimp head, tail, legs: Fresh shrimp will have the head, legs, and tail firmly attached to the body, with the tail folded together. If the tail of the shrimp is splayed out, it may have been injected with additives. Do not choose shrimp with heads, legs, or tails that have turned black, as this indicates shrimp that have been stored for too long and are not fresh.
How to choose delicious pumpkin
- A good pumpkin usually has a yellow-orange color, mixed with dark green, yellow flesh, and a sweet fragrant taste, with a relatively firm texture.
- Choose pumpkins that are heavy, firm to the touch, and have a smooth skin.
- Choose pumpkins with a stem length of 2 – 5cm. Those with a short stem are often more prone to rot quickly.
- The pumpkin should be round, with natural grooves that divide it into relatively even sections.
How to choose delicious lotus seeds
- It is advisable to choose lotus seeds that still have the heart or the shell, ensuring that the lotus seeds are fresh before processing.
- Preferably choose mature lotus seeds, round and plump in size, with a creamy white or deep yellow color as they will have a sweeter and richer taste.
How to choose rice for making porridge:
Good rice for making porridge is new rice, with bran skin that is not bleached, and the grains are full and firm. You should choose sticky rice varieties for a thicker and tastier porridge.
How to prepare Pumpkin Shrimp Porridge using a multifunctional blender
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Prepare the shrimp
Clean the shrimp, peel off the shell, remove the black vein, then wash and drain.
Quick way to remove the shrimp’s back vein:
- Method 1: Peel off the head and body shell of the shrimp from the legs to the tail, using two fingers to hold the last segment tightly and pull it out. Next, use a knife to cut along the back of the shrimp to expose the black vein, then use a toothpick to pick it out.
- Method 2: After washing the shrimp, insert a toothpick in between the shrimp’s neck and pull out the black vein, discarding it.
- Method 3: After cleaning the shrimp, use scissors to cut along the shrimp shell to expose the black vein, then rinse under running water to clean.
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Prepare other ingredients
Red pumpkin and carrots are washed clean, peeled, and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
For the lotus seeds, select the good ones and discard the bad ones, then remove the core from the seeds, wash them clean, and let them drain.
Tip:- If you choose to buy lotus seeds with shells, boil them with a little salt for about 10 – 15 minutes, this way you will be able to peel them easily.
- Split the seeds in half and remove the lotus seed core because the core has a bitter taste, if not removed carefully, it will affect the flavor of the dish.
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Wash the rice
Use the measuring cup that comes with the rice cooker to measure the rice, measure 1 cup of regular rice and 1 cup of sticky rice into a bowl, gently wash the rice with your hands and stir well to remove any dust, husk, and impurities still attached to the rice grains, then drain the water and continue adding clean water.
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Cooking porridge
You put the rice into the cooking blender, add pumpkin, carrot, lotus seeds, shrimp, 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and 1 liter of water.
You select the nutritional porridge cooking mode and set the time to 22 minutes, then press the cook button; the machine will operate and blend for about 25 minutes to complete.
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Final product
The pumpkin porridge after completion has a bright orange color with the subtle sweetness of pumpkin and shrimp, making the bowl of porridge more appealing. You can add some chopped scallions for more fragrance if you like, and invite your family to enjoy.
Tips for successful porridge cooking
- If you have time, you should soak the rice for about 1 – 2 hours before cooking the porridge, which helps the porridge to soften faster and taste better. Alternatively, you can rinse the rice, let it sit to drain, then put it in a pan and stir-fry it on medium-low heat until the rice grains turn light yellow, then cook as usual. This helps the porridge grains to expand evenly, making it more visually appealing and delicious.
- The water ratio is also very important; you can aim for a ratio of 1:4 for rice and water, which is the most suitable, or you can adjust it according to your preference.
- Mixing sticky rice with regular rice for porridge will help the dish be soft, delicious, and not overwhelming to eat.
- You need to wash the rice thoroughly to remove any dirt and impurities stuck to it.
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Just now is the simple, delicious, and nutritious way to cook pumpkin shrimp porridge that TasteVN shared with you, hope you will succeed on your first attempt, wishing you success!