You need to try making this easy Chinese Porridge (Congee) with Pork & Century Egg in under 30 minutes. This classic Chinese breakfast (known as jook in Cantonese) is inspired by Cantonese flavors meaning adding sliced pork and century eggs for a hearty breakfast.
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Ingredients
Here’s a look at what you need to make this Chinese porridge with pork and century egg. The highlights are here but the full ingredient list and quantities of each are in the recipe card.
The marinated pork in this recipe gives most of the flavor to the congee. I recommend to use pork loin so the congee is not fatty as the dish is supposed to taste clean. The key to the tender pork is the corn starch and oil, so make sure you don’t substitute those ingredients.
Make sure to used cooked white rice (jasmine and short grain rice work great!). After making the congee to a nice thick consistency, we add in thousand year old duck egg. It is a dark black color, but don’t be alarmed. A thousand-year-old duck egg, or century egg, is a preserved egg treated with a mixture of clay, ash, salt, and quicklime, transforming the yolk into a creamy, umami-rich center and the white into a translucent, amber jelly.
Toppings:
Since Chinese porridge tastes pretty plain, we like to add lots of toppings to make it more interesting with texture and flavors. These toppings may be unknown to those who have not tried lots of Chinese cuisine. They are found at Asian grocery stores such as 99 Ranch and Hmart. Since they are unique, unfortunately most of these toppings are not found at most western grocery stores.
- Youtiao – Fried dough stick that is crispy and chewy in the center. It can be bought pre-made and is available in many asian grocery stores.
- Salted preserved vegetables – spicy and salty Chinese vegetables are fermented for a umami kick!
- Salted Eggs – usually made from duck eggs. These eggs have a golden salty center with a different texture compared to regular eggs.
- Pork Floss – made from minced pork, this is salty and stringy (a classic Chinese dish topping).
- Crunchy salted peanuts
Substitutions and Variations
- Instead of pork, you can substitute with chicken breast. The chicken will also be tender and flavorful if you use the same marinade.
- If you don’t want to add the preserved thousand year old duck eggs (not actually 1000 years old lol), you can simply omit it. However, the congee will taste less traditional Chinese.
- Add more toppings to this congee like shiitake mushroom or even fried garlic and shallots (more Vietnamese flavor). This will enhance the flavor of your congee!
How to Make Chinese Porridge with Pork and Century Egg
Step 1. Slice ginger and green onions. Set aside. Tenderize and slice the pork (if you can’t eat pork, you can slice some chicken breast instead). Marinate with salt, ginger, sugar, chicken bouillon, corn starch, water and olive oil. Mix together.
Step 2. Boil 4 cups water. Once water has boiled, add cooked rice and cook for 20 minutes until thick on medium-low heat. Keep uncovered. Be careful the water may overflow so keep an eye on the stove!
Step 3. Stir at the 10-minute mark a few times so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom too much.
Step 4. After 20 minutes of cooking, stir the rice around and gradually add the pork and stir a few times.
Pro Tip: Don’t stir too much or the congee will get watery!
Step 5. Cut up your century egg and add inside. Cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish jook with green onions and ginger.
Step 6. The congee goes perfectly with you tiao (chinese donut). Enjoy while the congee is still hot!
Tips to Making a Perfect Congee
- Use day old rice to make the congee. Using raw rice doesn’t not make the same consistency and will take longer to cook.
- Don’t stir/mix the rice when cooking too much or else the congee will end up runny. We are looking for a thick and smooth consistency!
- If you have time, marinate the pork for at least 30 minutes so the meat gets more flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Chinese congee is a creamy rice porridge made by simmering rice with water or broth until it reaches a soft, velvety consistency. It’s a comforting, versatile dish enjoyed plain or with flavorful additions like meats, eggs, vegetables, or condiments, making it a staple in Chinese cuisine.
Yes, it is recommended to use cooked rice for this dish. I recommend using jasmine or short grain rice. You may also use cooked brown rice.
You can get youtiao in the frozen aisle at asian grocery stores like 99 ranch and Hmart. Its found next to the buns and baos. Buy a pack and heat in your air fryer or oven according to the package directions for a crispy exterior.
If you want to get the century eggs or thousand year old eggs, I recommend going to 99 ranch or your local asian grocery. I found these eggs next to the salted egg yolks section. They taste very mild or slightly salty. Hard to explain if you haven’t tried it yet but trust me, it goes great with the congee/porridge.
You can serve with crunchy youtiao. It also is common to eat congee with with rice noodles in Cantonese culture. You can try my HK rice noodles or Beef Chow Fun recipe.
Check Out More Chinese Recipes
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Chinese Porridge with Pork and Century Egg
Ingredients
pork marinade:
- ¼ pound pork loin tenderized and sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon ginger thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
congee:
- 1 preserved thousand year old egg (add more if you like)
- marinated pork use as much or little as you like
- 4 cups water
- ½ cup cooked rice (jasmine rice or short grain rice)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chicken bouillon
garnish
- sliced ginger
- sliced green onion
Instructions
- Slice ginger ginger and green onions. Set aside.
- Tenderize and slice the pork (if you can’t eat pork, you can slice some chicken breast instead). Marinate with salt, sliced ginger, sugar, chicken bouillon, corn starch, water and olive oil. Mix together until there is no liquid left in the pork marinade.
- Boil 4 cups water. Once water has boiled, add rice and cook for 20 minutes until thick on medium-low heat. Cover the pot with a lid half way (or uncovered). Be careful the water may overflow so keep an eye on the stove! Stir at the 10 minute mark a few times so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom too much and stirring a few times helps create that thick texture.
- After 20 minutes of cooking, stir the rice around and gradually add the pork and stir a few times. Cut up your century egg and add inside. Cook for 5 more minutes.
- Garnish jook with green onions and ginger.
- Jook goes perfectly with you tiao (chinese donut). Take the youtiao, chinese donut, out of the freezer and bake or air fry according to package directions. You can cut up the youtiao in small pieces, but we also like dipping it in the jook.
Video
@cookwithdana the crunch of the you tiao (Chinese donut) always gets me 🤤 #chinesefood #breakfast #asianfood #congee
♬ Friendly piano cafe music – INOSHIN
Notes
Additional Toppings:
-
- Youtiao – Fried dough stick that is crispy and chewy in the center. It can be bought pre-made and is available in many asian grocery stores.
-
- Salted preserved vegetables – spicy and salty Chinese vegetables are fermented for a umami kick!
-
- Salted Eggs – usually made from duck eggs. These eggs have a golden salty center with a different texture compared to regular eggs.
-
- Pork Floss – made from minced pork, this is salty and stringy (a classic Chinese dish topping).
-
- Crunchy salted peanuts
Tips to Making a Perfect Congee
- Use day old rice to make the congee. Using raw rice doesn’t not make the same consistency and will take longer to cook.
- Don’t stir/mix the rice when cooking too much or else the congee will end up runny. We are looking for a thick and smooth consistency!
- If you have time, marinate the pork for at least 30 minutes so the meat gets more flavor.
Danae M says
My kids LOVE this recipe which means it’s my favorite recipe! It’s delicious!
sid says
how many servings is this recipe for? it’s delicious!
Dana says
Hi Sid, it should be for 3 people! Just updated the recipe card to reflect the serving size ◡̈ Thanks!