How To Make Congee With Pork & 1000 Year Old Egg
Apr 16th, 2009 by admin
I’ve always loved my mother’s congee. She makes it very simply, mostly with pork or chicken and shreds of dried scallop. I also had congee for breakfast every day on my recent trip to Hong Kong, when I discovered it was one of the many breakfast options at my excellent hotel. So when I bought some thousand year old eggs recently to eat with chilled tofu, I saved a couple to make a classic, congee with pork and thousand year old egg.
Congee is actually really easy to make, so I don’t know why it’s taken me so many decades to make it for the first time. I did wonder though what type of rice to use when I read in a Chinese cookery book that one should use a combination of short-grain and glutinous rice. I couldn’t recall my mother using either of these types, so I consulted her and a few other foodies, and came to the conclusion that I could and should just use Thai jasmine rice.
Ingredients: (approximate amounts only as I rarely measure anything)
100-125g Thai jasmine rice
3 to 4 spring onions, finely chopped
1 or 2 thousand year old eggs
125g pork loin or fillet
cornflour
dark soy sauce
Chinese white vinegar
sugar
sea salt
Chop up the pork into pieces (about 2cm or so). Marinade in a bowl for about 30 minutes with a little cornflour, dark soy sauce, Chinese white vinegar, salt and sugar. You don’t have to do this, but it adds flavour to the meat and of course to the congee.
Add rice to a saucepan and rinse in water a few times. Add enough water to cover the rice, and don’t worry about using a lot, because I had to keep adding water during the cooking process. Bring to the boil, then turn heat down to low and cover saucepan with lid, but not completely.
Simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring regularly. Make sure there is always more than enough water, to stop the congee from burning.
Peel the thousand year old egg(s) and chop into small pieces, about 2 cm. If the egg pieces are too small, they will disintegrate in the congee and you won’t be able to taste the egg properly.
Add the pork and chopped egg and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 minutes, then add the chopped spring onion. People prefer varying levels of consistency when it comes to congee. I don’t like watery congee, but then I don’t like it to be too gloopy or stodgy either. Somewhere in between is perfect.
Add salt to taste (you can also add a little ground white pepper but I didn’t have any) and serve hot. It’s very filling and makes the perfect comfort food. I had two bowls for brunch!
See more Chinese recipes on World Foodie Guide.
Another great post ! I love congee, especially fish congee. Try using Thai Jasmine Rice next time – its the best type of rice for congee.
Great pictures.
I always use thai jasmine rice, and I also cook it in chicken stock for added flavour. I love congee – perfect comfort food.
Sung and Lizzie – I’ve corrected my post, as I did in fact use Thai jasmine rice (as you’ll see from the photo) because that’s what my mother uses, but I called it ‘ordinary’ for some reason, which it clearly isn’t! Thanks for pointing it out…
Helen Yuet Ling
I think congee is the greatest kept secret in the states. I love it so much that I indulged in it nearly every day when we first moved to Vancouver (with yao tiew – chinese doughtnuts). I’ve made congee a few different ways and like it quite a bit, but find it never gets quite as creamy as some the restaurants I visit. Next time, I’ll try the thai rice you’ve mentioned!
I’ve never underestood why the name in English for this is congee. Do you have any ideas?
I whisk the rice for a slightly smoother and creamier consistency once it gets to the more liquid stage – depends how lumpy you like it!
I have never eaten congee and I have never eaten 1000 year old egg as you know! I am massively intrigued by both though, they both look so unusual. That egg is making me nervous and curious in equal measures!
Allen of EOL – great to meet another fan of congee! I love it with fried dough sticks (we call them yau jah gwai), but I wouldn’t know how to make them at home. Perhaps the creaminess does come from the type of rice used. I’ll experiment with another type next time and report back!
Sonia – I’m not sure of the origin of the word either. I know it as plain old ‘juk’ in Cantonese. I’ve not heard of the whisking method either! I guess it depends on the consistency and texture that each individual prefers. I don’t like it watery but I do like a little texture in my congee (as opposed to lumps).
Helen – I wonder how you would react to both? I’d love to watch you eat it. In fact, I’ll try and remember to bring you the egg next week!
Helen Yuet Ling
Hmmm… I’m not that much of a rice afficionado to be able to tell the type by a picture of the grains!
I recently made my first pot of congee with pork and 1000 year old egg (although it was referred to as ‘century’ only!) from a recipe provided by Phyllis at me_hungry and now I’m hooked.
In that preparation, the pork was simply salted but it added such a great flavor to the whole dish. I’d love to try your recipe and I would definitely marinate the meat first. And as far as rice, my mother would insist there’s no substitution for Thai jasmine . . . !
Lizzie – I’ll show you some grain types next time!
Tangled Noodle – I prefer the name thousand year old egg to century, just sounds older! I just didn’t have the time to make salted pork, though I have the recipe for it.
Just spoke to my mother on the phone about making congee, and she said that when her mother makes it, she places a Chinese ceramic soup spoon in the saucepan. So rather than stirring the congee, which you’re not supposed to do (confirmed by a Taiwanese friend yesterday), when the congee boils away, the ceramic spoon at the bottom of the saucepan does the stirring for you! I’ll have to try that next time!
My grandmother also adds a little sugar and light soy sauce at the end. And apparently you can also stir in a raw egg before serving it. More tips from my mother – to the boiling water, add a little vegetable oil, slices of ginger, followed by the rice, which should be soaked for at least 30 minutes beforehand (the Taiwanese friend does it overnight!).
I think I’ll have to make congee again soon…
Helen Yuet Ling
I think I’ll have to make it again as well, after all these intriguing tips! Is the ‘Chinese ceramic spoon’ like a soup spoon? I wonder how that works . . . ?
Tangled Noodle – sorry I wasn’t precise enough, I’ve amended my last comment for others. Yes, a soup spoon, which moves around from the bubbling of the congee and does the ’stirring’ for you from inside the pot!
Helen Yuet Ling
I made this today and it was good — thank you! A bit of Googling suggested a 1:10 ratio of rice:water, so I used a litre of water for 100g of rice. I didn’t need to add any more water during the process and it was the right consistency at the end. I didn’t stir it during cooking, either (except when I added the pork and eggs). I did put the ceramic spoon at the bottom but I’m not convinced it made any difference. I also added some vegetable stock concentrate halfway through, because I tasted it and thought it needed something more (and remembered Lizzie’s comment).
I just wish I’d had some fried dough sticks to eat with it… do you know if they can be bought ready-made, or are they only good when freshly fried?
I’m also wondering if it would be heresy to use black salt in this rather than normal salt… it’s worked very well in all the egg dishes I’ve tried it in so far.
Kake – you’re welcome. I’m not sure whether you can buy fried dough sticks or not, will check next time I’m in Chinatown. I might have seen them in the refrigerated section, which you would then fry at home! I’ve only had them in restaurants up til now. Re using black salt, I don’t see why not. However, I personally think it’s best to keep the colour and look of the congee as pure and clean as possible. I like the congee itself not to taste of so much, but the added ingredients, whether fish, 1000 year old egg, pork, chicken, should give the congee the flavour. We use white pepper when serving congee. Perversely, when actually eating the congee, I like to add a little soy sauce. I hope this makes sense!
Helen Yuet Ling
Just made some fish congee and thought I’d share some tips. I use smoked cod (use non-dyed smoked fish) which imparts a great smoky flavour to the congee. Otherwise any flaky fish will do. After bowling-up, I add some sesame oil, light soy, white pepper, coriander and finely sliced ginger to season. For non fish congee, I substitute spring onion for the coriander.
Sung – ooh, thanks for the tips! I do like fish congee. I’ll try this next time….
Helen Yuet Ling