pídàn shòuròu zhou

Also known as congee.... or to be more specific, pork and century egg congee. There is a Chinese joint in Orlando called Chan's that serves an authentic Chinese dim-sum in the morning to early afternoon. On any given Sunday you can expect to have to wait for a seat for up to a half hour. I was introduced to this place by my old room mate Kin, from Hong Kong, who would often come here with his grandfather for some good "home style" nosh.

Needless to say I was hooked, and it wasnt long before I was trying to deconstruct the amazing array of flavors that I was experiencing there... namely their congee. I would sit in anticipation every time I went to Chan's... scoping out the ever elusive soup cart.... harassing the already swamped waiters, "zhou?".. and then 2 seconds later, "zhou? rice soup?" Sometimes I'd get it... sometimes I wouldnt... so I decided to set out on my own personal mission to crack this recipe, scouring the net and books for references. After several attempts, none quite measuring up... this weekend I finally nailed it.... the difference being short grain rice, and about an extra hour and a half cooking time to accomplish that velvety texture I enjoyed so much at Chan's. I still have some char siu left over... I'm going to make more this Sunday... can't wait.

So here you have it... my recipe for pork and century egg congee!


INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup short grain rice
* 8 cups water
* 1 pork boullion
* 2 cups char siu or roast pork, cut into small cubes
* 2 century eggs - hard boiled
* 6 scallions
* 1 tbsp vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse rice and place into a large pot. Add vegetable oil to rice, mix, and let soak for 10 mins.

2. Meanwhile, chop scallions into small rings.

3. Add 6 cups of water, pork boullion, char siu, whites and some greens of scallions, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 1.5 hours, stirring frequently.

4. Dice hardboiled century eggs into small cubes.

5. After 1.5 hours add remaining water and century eggs and continue cooking until the congee is at a thickness you prefer, stirring often, approx another 1.5 hours.

6. Serve hot in small bowls, garnished with a drop of oyster sauce, chopped scallion greens and small slices of yau ja gwai (fried chinese bread stick, or chinese crullers - you can get these in most Asian Markets, in the frozen section)