Century Egg Congee

Build the Meal Around Century Egg Congee

• Youtiao for dipping
• Pickled mustard greens
• Hot Chinese tea

How to Cook Century Egg Congee

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1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, drain thoroughly, toss with the oil and a pinch of salt, and freeze for at least 2 hours.

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2. Marinate the pork with the soy sauce, cornflour and sesame oil for 20 minutes.

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3. Bring the stock and ginger to the boil in a large heavy pot. Add the frozen rice directly, without thawing.

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4. Return to the boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring in one direction every 10 minutes and scraping the base.

   Mark done Start 45 min timer

5. The congee is ready when the grains have burst and the texture is thick, smooth and pourable. Add hot water if it tightens too far.

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6. Stir in the salt, then slide in the pork slices one by one and simmer 4 minutes until just cooked.

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7. Add half the century egg and stir it through so it dissolves slightly and flavours the whole pot.

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8. Ladle into bowls and top with the remaining century egg, spring onions, fried shallots and a heavy grind of white pepper, with soy and chilli oil at the table.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Choosing rice.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

The freezing trick genuinely halves the cooking time and is the single most useful thing about this recipe.

Stir in one direction only. Changing direction breaks the starch suspension and the congee can turn watery.

If century eggs are not to your taste, poached chicken, salted fish or plain ginger and spring onion are all traditional.

If You're Missing Something

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.

Leftovers

Refrigerate up to 4 days. It sets solid when cold — reheat with plenty of extra stock or water, whisking to loosen.

Century Egg Congee: Your Questions Answered

What's in a Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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