In Chinese culture (and many other Asian countries), “congee” or “粥”  or “ 稀飯” is a type of rice porridge that is typically eaten for breakfast or as an alternative to rice. Every country and family has their own version of this. In Hong Kong you can commonly find this at local restaurants that is cooked with chicken, pork, beef, fish and topped with all kinds of flavorings like preserved greens, century eggs, nuts and more. What makes it different from cooked white rice is the ratio of water to rice. Congee has a much higher  water content than regular rice AND it is slowly cooked over the stove until the rice grains are broken down.

Every Sunday my grandmother would whip up a pot of warm congee and wait for us to come home from Church to have for lunch. My husband came up with the idea to use steel cut oats to make congee instead of short grain white rice. Needless to say, it was AMAZING and it blew my mind. Cooked oats is so similar to congee! My brother in law came to visit and had NO idea he was eating oats.

Ever since the first try we have been making congee week after week. The best part is it so  MUCH quicker to make (traditional congee can take hours) and oatmeal is much more nutritious. It has more fibre, protein and has fewer carbs per serving of rice.

So after experimenting and tweaking the seasonings a bit, we finally managed to recreate a version that I am super happy with. This version is one of the most loved variations of congee commonly found in Asia – century egg and pork congee.

Just FYI don’t be scared of century eggs. THIS IS seriously delicious and SUCH a comforting meal for the winter. Try it out and let us know!

皮蛋瘦肉粥 (with steel cut oats)

 

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Author: Unconventional Cooks

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients

• 1 cup steel cup oats (quick cooking, you an also use normal oats)
• 6 cups chicken broth (2 tsp of chicken bouillon powder + more to taste)
• 8 oz (1/2 lb) lean ground pork
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 2-3 century eggs
• 2 stalks green onions (separate white and greens)
• White pepper

Instructions

1. 3 hours before eating: marinate the ground pork with oyster sauce, soy sauce and white pepper. Set aside for 2-3 hours.
2. Add oats into a small pot with broth and bring to boil. Turn down to simmer for 5-10 mins until soft (if you using normal steel cut oats or rolled oats, adjust timing and cook until soft).
3. Slowly add in the ground pork gradually and stir to break up clumps.
4. Add in the white ends of your green onions (leaving the green parts for garnish)
5. Once the porridge is thickened and almost ready, peel the century egg, chop roughly and add into the porridge.
6. Once warmed through, serve and garnish with more white pepper and the top part of the green onions.

3.5.3251

LOVE,

Zoe, Mia & Raena