Congee and Thick Soups · FFET10169
Century egg and pork congee
Soft rice congee with diced century egg and lean pork, common around Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau and eaten at breakfast.
A deep white porcelain bowl holds thick white rice congee with pale lean pork, dark diced century eggs, ginger, chopped green scallion and cilantro, with a pair of wooden chopsticks resting beside the bowl.
Congee boiled from rice, and thick soups.
Century egg and pork congee is soft rice congee with diced century egg and lean pork, often topped with scallion. It is very common around Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, and Guangdong cooks often add sesame oil and scallion. It spread across the country from the 2000s. Its claimed Guangdong origin has no cited source; no dated record of the congee itself or year of creation was found.
What
Century egg and pork congee is rice cooked until soft, with diced century egg and lean pork added, eaten hot and often topped with scallion. The pork may be minced or shredded depending on the shop. A variant called sliced pork and century egg congee uses fresh sliced pork.1
When
No year of creation for the congee was found. It became a breakfast item across the country from the 2000s and was tested on the menu of KFC in Shanghai in 2002. The claim that century eggs appeared in Chinese cooking from at least the 17th century comes through an article quoting Fang Yizhi's Wuli Xiaoshi; the original book was not checked.2,3
Where
Century egg and pork congee is very common in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, with sesame oil and scallion in Guangdong and scallion in Hong Kong. The claim that it originated in Guangdong has no cited source. Congee with added ingredients is popular in Guangdong and Hong Kong.1,2,6
How
The rice is cooked in water or stock until it breaks down, and the pork and egg go in for the final few minutes. One method soaks the rice for 1 hour, boils it for 10 minutes, simmers it for about 40 minutes, and adds minced pork and the egg for the final 5 to 8 minutes. Another freezes washed rice for at least 8 hours, cooks it covered for about 15 minutes, then adds ginger, shredded pork and eggs for 5 minutes. Both season with salt and white pepper and top with scallion and cilantro. The century egg itself is cured under a coating of clay, ash and lime.3,4,5
Why
The available material does not explain why the congee became popular, and this entry does not guess. A trade saying holds that century eggs help cool the body. Congee is a popular breakfast choice.1,6
Impact and influence
The congee ranks among the top 10 breakfast orders in large cities, a ranking drawn from a retelling of an industry report. Congee is eaten with pickles and youtiao. No intangible heritage or time-honored-brand listing was found for the dish.2,6
No tale about this food has been found.
Grandma Li
This is a simplified home version, not the traditional restaurant method.
This is the simpler way I make it at home, in the Guangdong style: I use bought century eggs and do not cure my own, and I do not cook it as long as a congee shop would. I drew on two published recipes by named authors, both home versions. The proportion of rice to water follows the one that freezes the rice, and the cooking method and time follow the one that soaks the rice; I judge by the rice grains having burst and the congee having thickened. The pork seasoning is my own choice: a little salt and starch, with no oyster sauce.
Ingredients
- Rice (jasmine) 3/4 cup, about 150 g
- Water or light stock 7 cups, about 1.7 L
- Lean pork about 115 g, cut into thin strips
- Cornstarch, for the pork 1 teaspoon
- Salt, for the pork a small pinch
- Century eggs 2, peeled and diced
- Ginger 3 slices
- Salt to taste, for seasoning
- White pepper to taste
- Chopped scallion and cilantro to taste, for topping
Steps
- Rinse the rice, soak it in cold water for 1 hour, and drain.
- Toss the pork strips with the cornstarch and the small pinch of salt and set aside.
- Bring the water and ginger to a boil, add the rice, and boil hard for about 10 minutes. Turn to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, stirring from the bottom now and then so it does not stick, until the grains have burst and the congee is thick.
- Peel and dice the century eggs. About 5 minutes before the end, stir the pork into the congee so the strips separate, and cook until all of it has changed color and a cut piece shows no pink. Then add the diced eggs. The pork must be cooked through.
- Season with salt and white pepper, ladle into bowls, and top with scallion and cilantro.
Tips
- The two recipes cook the congee for different lengths of time, about 50 minutes in one and about 20 minutes after freezing the rice in the other. I take the longer way, which gives me a thicker congee, and that is my own choice.
- When I am short of time I can try the freezing method of the second recipe: wash the rice and freeze it for at least 8 hours, then cook it straight from the freezer without soaking.
Allergens: egg