Century Egg and Pork Congee (Pidan Shourou Zhou, 皮蛋瘦肉粥)

Step 1

Wash the rice twice, then let it soak in cold water for about 30 minutes before rinsing and draining. Slice a large thumb of ginger into thin matchsticks. Add the rice, ginger, water and broth (optional) to a covered Dutch oven or other wide, heavy-bottom pot. Stir once. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then lower heat and simmer gently for 1 hour with the lid slightly cracked to prevent bubbling over. Do not stir again for the first 30-40 minutes, or the rice will stick more.

Step 2

In a small bowl, mix 3 ounces of slivered pork shoulder with ¼ teaspoon of salt and half an egg white (optional), stirring continuously in one direction for one minute. Add ½ teaspoon of Shaoxing wine, ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper and 1 teaspoon of sweet potato starch and stir for another minute.

Step 3

After one hour of cooking, start checking for doneness periodically and stir frequently as the congee gelatinizes to prevent sticking. Depending on how you like your century egg, add it with the scallion whites up to 10 minutes before the congee is done cooking. The longer you cook (and stir) the century egg, the more it disintegrates into the congee. The scallion whites withstand heat better, and contribute to the flavor once cooked a bit.

Step 4

Once the congee has thickened to your liking, turn off the heat, then stir in the slivered pork meat. The thin, lean slices cook quickly in the residual heat and stay tender this way. Serve piping hot and garnish with the green ends of the scallions.