Pictorial: Congee (Jook) with Salted Pork

[hzrt8w]

Congee (Jook) with Salted Pork and Thousand Year Eggs (皮蛋瘦肉粥)

Congees, or Jook in Cantonese, are day-to-day food in Hong Kong as breakfast, lunch or a mid-afternoon light snack. There are many ingredients you may choose from, ranging from pork, beef, fish filet to the more exotic "pork blood" and "chicken intestines". You may find congee in restaurants specialized in dim sum or Cantonese style cooking.

Have you ever thought of making congee at home? It is really easy if you have a crockpot. The basic steps for making congee from rice grains are the same. This time, I made congee with salted pork and thousand year eggs (pei dan [Cantonese]). You may substitute them with different ingredients. The easiest way is to start making congee the night before. Then you can have congee in time for a late breakfast or brunch.

Serving suggestion: 4-5

Start the night before.

I used 1 lb of pork loin.

Cut the pork into thick, roughly 1 inch by 1 inch cubes.

Use a mid-size tupperware to hold the pork. Add about 1 cup of salt. Slightly bury the pork with salt. Don't worry, you will rinse off the salt the following day before using it for cooking. Seal the container and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.

Use a small size crockpot (slow cooker). Mine is about 3 quarts. Fill it with water to about 80% full. Set for "auto" (the crockpot will switch between high and low automatically).

Use 2 small cups of rice (note the size of the measuring cups for rice cookers). Slightly rinced. Add to the crockpot. Close the lid. Leave it on overnight.

Note: If you don't want to leave the crockpot on all night, or to speed up the process, set it at high and cook for 3 to 4 hours.

The next morning, about 2 to 3 hours before serving: Take out the container from the refrigerator. Rince away the salt from the pork.

Add the pork to the crockpot. Close the lid. Change the setting to "high". Let it cook for 2 to 3 hours.

Prepare some gingers, about a 1/2 inch cut, shred it. Use 1 green onion, finely chopped. Use 2 thousand year eggs. Peel and use a small knife to cut into small wedges.

Scoop up a bowl of congee with salted pork. Add the thousand year eggs, ginger shreds and green onions.

Finished.

Customery condiments: salt, light soy sauce and ground white pepper

Edited October 17, 2005 by hzrt8w (log)

[Shalmanese]

Whats the fried, crunchy garnish that often accompanies congee in restaurants?

[hzrt8w]

Whats the fried, crunchy garnish that often accompanies congee in restaurants?

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Those could be fried wonton skins. (Cut into narrow strips before frying)

[wesza]

hzrt8w:

That is the most eloquent Salted Pork Congee I have ever seen. Your using Pork Loin in place of the fatty shoulder regularly used is going to be the way I will make it in the future as in 2005 less fat is healthier and loin has enough flavor and tenderness that it will be delicious.

The only thing we do differently is slicing the salted pork in Julienne Strips as it customarily done at most Restaurants.

I think I would prefer this Congee much more then the "Pig Snout Congee", late night streetside [cheap] treat popular in Hong Kong [wifes favorite] that I just finished posting on another thread.

If I needed a food display designer for advertisements there is no question that I would seek to utilize your skills as your food photos almost taste good enough to make me covet the dishes right now, better then studio quality. Comparable to any magazines, we are very fortunate to enjoy your food art at eGullet. Both you and Teepee are truly gifted.

Irwin

[hzrt8w]

The only thing we do differently is slicing the salted pork in Julienne Strips as it customarily done at most Restaurants.

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Irwin: Thanks so much for the compliment.

Most of the saled pork I had, if memory serves me well, were in cubes. But I didn't have this congee too often when I was young. My favorite was ground beef (mixed with shredded deep-fried mung bean threads) and pork blood occassionally, and "shampan" too.

[jo-mel]

Never having grown up on congee, I can only go by what I've had in China. Some was heartwarming and tasty and some was like an uncared for bowl of porridge. When there is a selection of toppings, I always seem to choose Sichuan pickled veg (zha cai / 榨 菜 ), peanuts and sometimes You Tiao cubes.

My favorite all-time bowlful was at a Ramada Inn (of all places) in HK. I think they used chicken broth in place of water.

[sheetz]

I always seem to choose Sichuan pickled veg  (zha cai / 榨 菜 ), peanuts and sometimes You Tiao cubes. 

My favorite all-time bowlful was at a Ramada Inn (of all places) in HK. I think they used chicken broth in place of water.

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Zha cai and you tiao are really good in congee. I also like thousand year egg and roast duck. Another thing we did growing up was place sliced raw fish on the bottom of a bowl and then ladling boiling congee on top, allowing it to sit for a few minutes before eating it.

It's an annual tradition for Chinese families all accross the US to use the leftover turkey carcass to make jook the day after Thanksgiving.

[wesza]

The only thing we do differently is slicing the salted pork in Julienne Strips as it customarily done at most Restaurants.

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Irwin: Thanks so much for the compliment.

Most of the saled pork I had, if memory serves me well, were in cubes. But I didn't have this congee too often when I was young. My favorite was ground beef (mixed with shredded deep-fried mung bean threads) and pork blood occassionally, and "shampan" too.

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Ah Leung [hzrt8w]:

After posting my response last night I needed to visit the International District to order "Salt Pork with Thousand Year Egg Congee" before everything closed. It was served at "Hing Loong Restaurant" with the Pork Cut as I discribed in long strips from the Pork Butt but the Eggs used seemed larger [Duck eggs ?] .

I took several orders home with Fried Bread to eat last night as a necessary treat and again today for breakfast. Yours photos still look more appetizing then mine in the foam container.

Irwin

[Yuki]

My favourite congee ingredients would be pork organs, fish, and pork meatballs(of course not all together in one bowl). I usually like to break some pieces of dried bean curd to the congee to help make it more fragrant and smooth. Congee is something that is easy to make at home but to get a great bowl of congee, it is not so easy. I could never get my congee as smooth and tasty as the famous congee shop in HK(of course I could always blame the MSG but I also tried adding it to my congee, still couldn't get that taste). Maybe my rice quality is not good enough?

[pcbilly]

Ah Leung [hzrt8w]:

Another great cooking demonstration!

This dish is what I always order when I go to Cantonese Noodle shop.

Now that the cold and wet fall weather is here in the east coast, a warm bowl of congee with pickled vegetable will be heavenly.

Thanks

William

[torakris]

another wonderful looking dsih!

Do you think I would do it in a rice cooker? I don't have a crock pot...

My rice cooker hs an okayu setting, okayu is very similar to congee, could this maybe work?

[hzrt8w]

When there is a selection of toppings, I always seem to choose Sichuan pickled veg  (zha cai / 榨 菜 ), peanuts and sometimes You Tiao cubes. 

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jo-mel: I believe Sichuan pickled vegetable (zha cai / 榨 菜 ) is a Northern Chinese style condiment. I have not seen it used in Cantonese congee in Hong Kong. I did have some when I travelled in Mainland China. In Northern China, e.g. Beijing, they call congee xi1 fan4 [Mandarin] (稀飯) which literally means "diluted rice". Theirs are more grainly - more like the Teochew congee - than Cantonese congee.

As cited above, the Hong Kong style congee "toppings" are typically:

- Fried wonton skin strips

- Roasted peanuts (with red skins) with sprinkled salt

- Sliced yau tieu [Mandarin] (deep-fried bread dough)

- Chopped green onions

- Thin ginger shreds

[hzrt8w]

[...] I usually like to break some pieces of dried bean curd to the congee to help make it more fragrant and smooth. Congee is something that is easy to make at home but to get a great bowl of congee, it is not so easy.[...]

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Yuki: I have tried using some dried bean curd (sheets, "fu jook" [Cantonese]) in making congee. But it did not achieve the desired effect. The "fu jook" remained sheets floating on top instead of dissolving into the liquid "jook" - maybe because the temperature of the slow cooker is not hot enough? Maybe I need boil the "fu jook" first, half way dissolve it, before adding rice? I don't know.

Yeah, MSG is a factor in restaurants' taste and home-made taste.

[hzrt8w]

Do you think I would do it in a rice cooker? I don't have a crock pot...

My rice cooker hs an okayu setting, okayu is very similar to congee, could this maybe work?

←

Maybe. If it has a high/low setting, and preferrably one more - "auto shift" setting, it might work. Congee needs to be made at low temperature cooking after the initial boil.

[hzrt8w]

Use 2 small cups of rice (note the size of the measuring cups for rice cookers).  Slightly rinced.  Add to the crockpot.  Close the lid.  Leave it on overnight.

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Supplemental note:

If you don't want to leave the crockpot on all night, or to speed up the process, set it at high and cook for 3 to 4 hours after adding rice grains.

The original recipe post has been modified.

[jo-mel]

hzrt--

>>>>>As cited above, the Hong Kong style congee "toppings"<<<<<

- Fried wonton skin strips

- Roasted peanuts (with red skins) with sprinkled salt

- Sliced yau tieu [Mandarin] (deep-fried bread dough)

- Chopped green onions

- Thin ginger shreds

---------------------------

I'll have one order, please.

[wesza]

I am familiar about the "Secret Ingredient" used at almost all Hong Kong's pre-eminent "Congee Restaurant's" and have decided to share it with eGullet.

It somehow makes a simple rice gruel into something special. This is attributed to the fact that almost all these places are always packed with customers.

It's "Dried Scallops" about 8 ounces is all it takes in a Commercial Congee Pot [ 20 Gallons] so use it modestly and enjoy.

I hope this postings influence others to enjoy this healthy dish regularly.

Since the Rice quality in Hong Kong varies most places have a ladder adjacent to the Congee Pots where a "Hot Water Boy" climbs regularly and stirs with a very long paddle adding water as needed to keep the rice consistency stable.

It's customarily served with various condiments and small side dishes. The only items prepared to accompany Congee are thin sliced pork livers and kidneys or seasonal Vegetables with Oyster Sauce.

Most places also serve Sui Kow, Won Tons or Noodles served in combinations together with clear Broth.

Other types of Congee are served in different ethnic Chinese Restaurants.

Irwin

[hzrt8w]

It somehow makes a simple rice gruel into something special. This is attributed to the fact that almost all these places are always packed with customers.

It's "Dried Scallops" about 8 ounces is all it takes in a Commercial Congee Pot [ 20 Gallons] so use it modestly and enjoy.

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Wonderful! Thanks Irwin. I gotta give this a try next time and report back.

[Steven Blaski]

another wonderful looking dsih!

Do you think I would do it in a rice cooker? I don't have a crock pot...

My rice cooker hs an okayu setting, okayu is very similar to congee, could this maybe work?

←

Torakris: I've never tried them, but "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger includes 4 recipes for rice porridge/jook using the porridge/okayu cycle. She says it works extremely well in the rice cooker -- so you should give it a try. It would be faster than a Crockpot too. The rice porridge recipes in the book are: "Plain Rice Porridge"; "Thanksgiving Jook" using the leftover bird; "Savory Rice Porridge with Shiitake and Preserved Egg"; and "Rice and Sweet Potato Porridge." PM me if you want any of the recipes.

[torakris]

another wonderful looking dsih!

Do you think I would do it in a rice cooker? I don't have a crock pot...

My rice cooker hs an okayu setting, okayu is very similar to congee, could this maybe work?

←

Torakris: I've never tried them, but "The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger includes 4 recipes for rice porridge/jook using the porridge/okayu cycle. She says it works extremely well in the rice cooker -- so you should give it a try. It would be faster than a Crockpot too. The rice porridge recipes in the book are: "Plain Rice Porridge"; "Thanksgiving Jook" using the leftover bird; "Savory Rice Porridge with Shiitake and Preserved Egg"; and "Rice and Sweet Potato Porridge." PM me if you want any of the recipes.

←

Thanks!

I actually own the book, so I might give this recipe a try. That salted pork looks really good.

[muichoi]

When there is a selection of toppings, I always seem to choose Sichuan pickled veg  (zha cai / 榨 菜 ), peanuts and sometimes You Tiao cubes. 

←

jo-mel: I believe Sichuan pickled vegetable (zha cai / 榨 菜 ) is a Northern Chinese style condiment. I have not seen it used in Cantonese congee in Hong Kong. I did have some when I travelled in Mainland China. In Northern China, e.g. Beijing, they call congee xi1 fan4 [Mandarin] (稀飯) which literally means "diluted rice". Theirs are more grainly - more like the Teochew congee - than Cantonese congee.

As cited above, the Hong Kong style congee "toppings" are typically:

- Fried wonton skin strips

- Roasted peanuts (with red skins) with sprinkled salt

- Sliced yau tieu [Mandarin] (deep-fried bread dough)

- Chopped green onions

- Thin ginger shreds

←

Thanks for the great pictures/thread. Do you eat congee with chopsticks? and are those HK toppings eaten with a plain congee or a flavoured one as demonstrated? are they mixed into the bowl or taken as though the bowl of Congee were one of steamed rice?

[Dejah]

muichoi,Oct 17 2005, 02:44 AM]

Thanks for the great pictures/thread. Do you eat congee with chopsticks? and are those HK toppings eaten with a plain congee or a flavoured one as demonstrated? are they mixed into the bowl or taken as though the bowl of Congee were one of steamed rice?

Ok, hzrt, now you need to take this pictorial a little further: I want to see images of congee (jook) from different parts of China - Teochew, HK, Guangdong, Beijing!

Depending on what ingredients/toppings you have in your jook, you could use both a spoon and chopsticks. Yau tieu, green onions, ginger threads, cilantro, and chili radish are my usual toppings. With my family of meat eaters, I never make plain congee, but the toppings are usually added all at once. We do add more as needed.

Haven't tried roasted peanuts as a topping. I have cooked congee with peanuts.

IN HK, you just add the nuts just when you are ready to eat?

[Ben Hong]

Inspired by A Leung's wonderful thread, I am waiting for my morning jook to cool as I type. There is a fillet of basa, a lovely white fleshed fish from Vietnam fish farms that I got from Costco sitting at the bottom, a few sprinkles of scallions on top with the ginger and when I am ready to eat, I will add white pepper and a dash of soy sauce or fish sauce.

My jook is made the old fashioned way, on top of the stove with a heavy bottomed pot that is stirred every 5 minutes at lowest setting after the boil. My preferred rice for jook is plain unscented long or short grain, and for a bit more smoothness, I will use half glutinous and half plain rice. Ratio of rice to water is 1/7 at least, depending on consistency desired.

Although I have heard of people using a little bicarb to cook jook, I have never used it. It is believed that it speeds up the softening process of the rice. Anyone heard of such a thing??

Leftover jook tastes smoother after being reheated the next day. Everybody has listed most of the toppings that I normally use but I will also use fuyu as a topping.

I love jook, maybe that's why in my youth I was called jook sing

[Tepee]

I don't believe I've ever cooked jook with salted pork chunks like this. If it's a pork jook, I'd normally add pork slices, or roughly chopped marinated pork made into balls. And I cook jook in either a heavy-based saucepan if I know I'm going to be in the kitchen at the time of the cooking, or in the thermal inner pot, boiling for 15 minutes, then stewing in the insulated pot for an hour. <---- Lesson from too many burnt pots.

[I_call_the_duck]

hzrt8w:

Thanks for the pictorial. I haven't had salted pork jook in eons, but I my mom minced the meat instead of having chunks since she could feed more of us for less. I was just thinking of making jook the other day, because as I was going through my freezer I unearthed a few packages of the neck and organ meats that come with chicken. After a little browning, I think that may make an interesting, if non-traditional jook. My family also fights over the turkey carcass each Thanksgiving, since everyone looks forward to turkey jook.

My jook is made the old fashioned way, on top of the stove with a heavy bottomed pot that is stirred every 5 minutes at lowest setting  after the boil…

Although I have heard of people using a little bicarb to cook jook, I have never used it. It is believed that it speeds up the softening process of the rice. Anyone heard of such a thing??

Leftover jook tastes  smoother after being reheated the next day. Everybody has listed most of the toppings that I normally use but I will also use fuyu as a topping.

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Like Ben, I also do it on the stove top as opposed to a crock pot or rice cooker. I think mom uses bicarb, which she says makes the texture smoother. But I'll have to double-check. I also loved adding fuyu when she just made bok jook. Still do.

Chopped choong choy and scallions are currently my choice of garnish.

Do you think I would do it in a rice cooker? I don't have a crock pot...

My rice cooker hs an okayu setting, okayu is very similar to congee, could this maybe work?

←

Torakris: my brother often cooks jook in his rice cooker. I guess it depends on what type of cooker you have, but it sounds like you should be able to with the one you have.