a cantonese classic: pork jook with two kinds of eggs

anyone that has spent any time in hong kong knows that jook (also known as congee) is a cantonese classic for breakfast and brunch.  like i said, i never grew up eating oatmeal, but you'd often find a steaming hot bowl of jook cooked by grandma or my mom at the breakfast table.  jook is served all over china, because it's essentially peasant food.  it stretches a cup of rice to a substantial meal for a family of four.  at it's plainest, jook is just rice porridge, watered down rice.  it can be dressed up a little with some soy sauce or black vinegar or a lot with some braised meats.  my favorite version of jook (and perhaps the most classic) is made with lean pork loin and two kinds of eggs: thousand year old preserved and salted.  and i can't have jook without it's most important accompaniment, dough sticks - deep fried goodness at it's tastiest.

pork jook with thousand year old preserved eggs & salted eggs
serves 4 to 6

1 lb. lean pork loin
lots of salt
12 cups of water
1 cup of rice
3 thousand year old preserved eggs (pictured below and found in any asian grocers)
2 salted eggs
1 handful of cilantro or 2 stalks of green onion, chopped
1 dough stick, toasted and sliced into 1/2 inch thick pieces (can also be found at any asian grocers)
red or black vinegar, soy sauce, freshly ground pepper for seasoning

heavily salt 1 lb. of lean pork loin, and when i say heavily, i mean heavily.  give the pork plenty of time to absorb the seasoning, anywhere from two hours to overnight.  when pork has been marinated, place salted pork loin into a stockpot or a dutch oven and cover with twelve cups of water.  bring to a boil and then lower heat keeping the water at a simmer.  cook pork slowly at a simmer for forty-five minutes and then remove from water.  set aside and let cool.

pour in one cup of rice and bring water back to a boil.  lower heat to keep water at a heavy simmer.  cook rice for two to two and a half hours.  when it's ready the rice will start to break up and become incredibly soft and creamy. 

while the rice is cooking, slice up pork and eggs.  for the pork, use a fork to break up cooled piece of pork.  the pork should fall apart, like a piece of braised meat. 

once the rice is the right consistency, add shredded pork and eggs.  garnish with cilantro, dough stick pieces and then season to your liking with soy sauce, vinegar and/or freshly grounded pepper.

eat piping hot!

   

Comments

[diva@theSugarBar]

that looks insanely good. i do miss a good bowl of congee. x

[Chuck]

Looks so good and comforting! I would love a bowl right now.

[Anne]

Vietnamese people eat this dish with the deep-fried dough sticks as well. So good!

[rosie]

I do not believe it for a minute that these eggs are preserved for 3 thousand years! Unless it is somehow a strange Chinese saying....

[Luke]

Oh man, I really miss congee. I used to get it back when I was in Hong Kong. The thousand year old egg really makes the dish, but it is tough to find in DC.

[Lando]

There are spots near me that sell congee. Problem is that it doesn't look as delicious. I want to give you a thumbs up for your photography.

[Jess Dang]

thanks for everyone's comments! to learn more about thousand year old eggs, check out this wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg. and yes, rosie, you're right, they're not actually that old. luke, you might want to trek out to the suburbs to get the eggs. there are a few asian grocers out in silver spring and rockville.

[kimmie]

I was super generous when I salted the pork, which lead to an overly salty porridge. What a disaster! Talk about chain reaction. I ended up throwing it all away.

I would recommend using only a portion of the water used for cooking the pork, to cook the rice. Or, maybe not using that water at all, and saving the seasoning until the end.