Century Egg and Pork Floss Congee 皮蛋肉松粥

This is the start of my second week under a shelter in place ordinance and I’m growing a greater appreciation for my folks who taught me a lot of practical advice. Especially when it came to cooking, they could show me a range of complicated to simple recipes. Chatting with them on the phone, they do have worries about the greater impact of COVID-19, but not for their general safety. They have enough food to stay in place for a while and they’ve experienced much worse with much less.

My parents have the knowledge and experience of growing their own food, foraging traditional medicine and plants for eating, as well as hunting to capture chickens and catching fish. I know my dad was born in the middle of the Second Sino-Japanese War and conditions were extremely chaotic. People who tend to come from these backgrounds seem to carry habits of being very thrifty and practical, even if their environments no longer are like that. I’ve heard stories of how one of my grandmothers at one point had only rice and a few slices of ginger to eat, and she was considered one of the lucky ones who even had rice to eat.

With the extra time that I have, it gives me a chance to reflect on a few things. One is to appreciate the vastness of Chinese cuisine beyond its regional diversity. It’s a culture that’s gone through many periods of prosperity and chaos. Congee is one those dishes (obviously not limited to Chinese) that’s so simple, but really stretches out what you have. I like it a bit more runny so I like a ratio of rice to water as 1:10. But a single meal for a person can be made from as little as a 1/4 cup of rice.

This is a very simple dish all made with ingredients that can last a long time in your pantry.

RECIPE:

1/4 c. rice
2 1/2 c. water
Salt to taste
2 slices of peeled ginger
Ground white pepper to taste
1 Century egg 皮蛋 pei daan
Pork Floss 肉松 yuk chung

In a tall pot, add the rice and rinse. Discard the water and add 2 1/2 cups of water and a large pinch of salt to taste. Bring this to a boil over medium-high heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat to low to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the ginger and set aside. You can also peel the century egg 皮蛋 pei daan and set this aside.

When the congee is ready, transfer it to a bowl. Slice the century egg 皮蛋 pei daan into small pieces and add this along with the sliced ginger to the congee. Add ground white pepper to your preference and mix. Top with however much pork floss 肉松 yuk chung as you want.