Century Egg & Pork Congee
A restaurant-level classic congee in half the cooking time!
Cooking Summary
Ingredients: (detailed list)
- Congee Ingredients: rice, water, salt, oil, century egg, pork butt, dried scallop, ginger
- Pork Marinade: salt, white pepper, cornstarch, water, baking soda, sesame oil
- Garnishes: cilantro, green onion
Steps:
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Overview
Congee is the ultimate comfort food. There's nothing more calming than a thick, soothing rice porridge that's been simmering away for hours... except what if you didn't have to wait hours?
Daddy Lau has another trick up his sleeve, so that this congee is cooked through and ready for toppings in 30 minutes. How? Grab your favorite whisk and follow along!
Why this recipe
Most century egg & pork congee recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 557.8K views, 10K likes on YouTube.
Ingredients
Black eggs!
Century eggs may look odd when you first encounter them, but they've been a beloved ingredient for hundreds of years.
Traditionally, century eggs are chicken or duck eggs preserved in a mixture of clay, salt, lime, and rice hulls. Over time, mass production has modified the preservation method with different or simplified ingredients, and cut down the curing time to months, or even weeks. The result of preserving eggs in this unique, alkaline mixture is a jelly-like black-brown egg white, and a dark green egg yolk.
Century eggs are strongly savory, and their texture is just like boiled eggs, with creamy yolks and solid whites.
Using dried scallops
Dried scallops have more concentrated flavor than fresh ones, so while you could use fresh seafood in a congee, it wouldn't have that intense fragrance that dried scallops provide.
Just like other dried ingredients, you usually want to soak them in water to soften them up before you start cooking. For this recipe, since they'll be hanging out in a big pot of liquid for most of the cooking time, there's no need to pre-soak!
Pork butt or pork shoulder?
When you buy meat, you might see both names and think that pork butt comes from the buttocks, and pork shoulder from the shoulder. Unfortunately, the naming convention of pork cuts isn't straightforward and sensible like that.
Pork butt is actually a marbled cut from the pig's shoulder. If you get a ham cut from the pig's buttocks, or "pork shoulder" which is a leaner section of the pig's shoulder, it'll taste fine, but the meat will not be as tender as if you used a marbled piece of pork butt.
You can use other cuts of pork, or other meats, but you'll want to get something that's balanced between lean and fat. Too lean, and it won't be tender and juicy. Too fatty, and your congee will get greasy and oily.
How to make Century Egg & Pork Congee
As always, wash your rice well. Wash the rice (6 oz) three times, changing out the starchy water for fresh water each round.
(Daddy Lau's pro-tip #1: save the starchy rice water to water your plants!)
After the last rinse, let the rice soak in clean water, just enough water to keep the rice submerged, and add salt (1 tsp) and oil (1 tsp). The salt will season the rice, and the oil will contribute to the silky texture of the congee later.
Now, grab your dried scallops (1 oz). Break them apart with pliers or a nutcracker. The smaller pieces will soften faster, cook easier, and be appropriately sized for eating. Then, wash them twice to get rid of any dust or debris.
Heat water (8 cup) in a large pot on high heat. While the water's heating up, add the dried scallops. Wait until the water is at a rolling boil, then add the soaked rice and the soaking liquid.
The rolling boil is important, as the movement of the water is critical to keeping the rice moving and preventing sticking (and burning).
Put the lid on, and when it has come back to a boil, remove the lid, turn the heat to medium, and give it one single stir. Put the lid back on, but crooked, leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Keep it at a boil, without letting it boil over, for about 25 minutes.
(Daddy Lau's pro-tip #2: Freeze the pork just a bit before cutting, to firm it up, or only half-thaw fully frozen pork. Then it won't jiggle as much, and it'll be very easy to cut!)
Cut the pork butt (½ lb) into slices, and then halve any of the slices that are too thick. Then, lay the slices down to cut into strips. Finally, line up the strips to dice the pork into small pieces.
Rinse the chopped pork with water to get rid of the gamey, bloody taste. The rinse will also help the pork appear paler and brighter in color. Let the rinsed pork sit in a colander so the excess water can drain off.
Marinate pork
Mince the ginger (¼ oz) by first slicing it, then cutting the slices into strips, and then finely dicing those strips. Put the ginger in a bowl and add salt (1½ tsp), white pepper (¼ tsp), cornstarch (2 Tbsp), water (2 Tbsp), and baking soda (½ tsp). The baking soda is optional, but it'll really help get the pork get more tender.
Then mix it together, and toss the pork in. Mix the pork with the marinade well. Add sesame oil (1 tsp) and mix again.
Grab a clean cutting board; you don't want raw pork residue on your garnishes. Chop cilantro (1 small amount) and green onion (1 small amount).
It's up to you how finely to chop them, but the more pungent parts, like the cilantro stems and lower, paler parts of the green onion, may be very punchy if they're cut too big.
Peel the century eggs just like hard-boiled eggs. Cut the first one into wedges. With the other two, cut first into wedges and then into smaller pieces.
At this point, the congee base is finished cooking.
(Daddy Lau's final pro-tip: whisk your congee!)
Turn the heat down to low, and mix the congee with a whisk to break the rice down even more and thicken the congee. Usually, if cooked the old-fashioned way, we'd have to keep boiling it for at least an hour to get it to that smooth, full-bodied texture.
The congee might have gotten too thick after whisking, so add boiling water to thin it again if necessary. Don't forget that the other ingredients we're adding later will also thicken it back up.
Our family prefers it on the thinner side, as it's less likely to stick to the pot.
Turn the heat as low as it'll go, then slowly drop small amounts of chopped pork onto different spots on the congee surface. You want them to end up as small clumps of meat, almost like little meatballs.
Give the congee a gentle stir so that the meat doesn't stick together, or to the pot. Turn up the heat to medium low to help cook the meat through, and to thicken the congee further, for about 3 minutes. Since the meat is in small pieces, it won't take long to cook through, and they'll stay tender.
Once the pork just turns light brown, turn the heat to low, taste, and adjust for flavor. If it tastes bland, add a small amount of salt. If it's too thick, add more boiling water.
Add the smaller pieces of century egg into the congee, and gently mix them in.
After 30 seconds, giving the century eggs a chance to impart some flavor to the congee but before they disintegrate, turn off the stove and transfer the congee to a serving bowl. Top with the century egg wedges, and the chopped cilantro and green onions. Enjoy!
Top 3 Mistakes
- Skipping the rice rinse:
Wash the rice three times, replacing the starchy water with fresh water each round. Drain before adding the cooking water so you start with clean grains and the intended water ratio.
- Closing the congee lid tightly:
Leave the gap in the lid described during the congee cooking stage. Follow the heat and covering changes instead of keeping the pot fully covered at a hard boil throughout.
- Skipping the starch marinade:
Include the starch in the meat marinade as directed and mix it in thoroughly. It is part of the recipe’s texture-building method, rather than just another seasoning you can leave out.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the best rice to use for congee?
You can use whatever rice you have on hand, but different types of rice will yield different flavors and textures of congee. We use Thai jasmine rice, which is a long grain rice that is fragrant, fluffy, and slightly sticky. Sushi rice, which is a short grain stickier rice, works great as well!
Rices that still have the bran and germ on, such as brown rice, or wild rice, will definitely affect your congee, as they won't break apart as well, and you'll have crunchy layers to chew on. Avoid those to maintain the ideal, smooth texture of congee!
How do you get the right congee texture?
Traditionally, you achieve smooth, full-bodied congee texture where most of the rice has practically melted into perfection by laboring over a simmering pot of rice and water for hours.
Not anymore! Cook your congee with just enough water (adding more as needed) and raw rice (don't use already cooked rice for the best results), and boil carefully at high heat, then simmer at medium with the lid almost on, leaving a gap. It'll cook for about 20 minutes, then lower the heat even more... and whisk it!
That's our secret for making restaurant-quality, full-bodied, almost-creamy congee. Whisking will help break down more grain of rice and let those starches out to thicken the congee.
If it gets too thick at any point, you can always thin it out by adding boiling water.
Can I use cooked rice to make congee?
Technically, yes. You can use cooked rice, and you'll get congee. But we don't recommend it because you're more likely to end up with lumpy congee.
What cut of pork should I use for congee?
We typically buy pork butt, which is the marbled shoulder cut, and chop it into fine pieces. You can get pre-chopped pork butt for convenience!
You can use other cuts of pork or other types of meat, but find a balance between lean and fatty. The marbling of pork butt is fatty enough to stay tender when cooked in the congee, but not so fatty that it makes the congee greasy. Keep that lean/fatty balance in whatever meat you choose, and you'll be fine!
How do you marinate the pork?
In our recipe, we marinate the pork with salt, white pepper, cornstarch, water, baking soda, and sesame oil. See the recipe above for specific amounts, and don't forget that you can adjust the serving size if you need to scale your recipe up or down.
What can I use besides pork?
Chicken or beef both work as well. You want to use something tender, so chicken thigh would be the best alternative!
Can I use something other than century eggs?
If you don't like century eggs, or if you can't find them, you can leave them out, but since it's an essential flavor component of this dish, if you use substitutes such as hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs, your congee will not taste exactly the same.
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Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.