Century Egg Congee

The bad thing about this blog is that I can no longer be in denial of what we have been eating. It is actual proof, and browsing through my recent recipes, we have been eating a lot of fried stuff (thanks to someone who keeps requesting churros!). Surprisingly, we haven't put on any weight (yet).

So I thought we should detox last tonight by having congee. I'm not sure if century eggs are all that healthy either... but I love them too much! Century eggs are duck eggs cured by soaking the eggs in a brine of salt, calcium hydroxide, and sodium carbonate for 10 days followed by several weeks of ageing while wrapped in plastic. I was told that it was made by soaking in horse urine but Wikipedia has dismissed this as a myth. Don't know what life was like pre-Wikipedia....

The egg is actually grey to black in colour and has an anmonia smell to it. I must say that it is an acquired taste. You can also eat it on its own or with a few slivers of preserved ginger.

Century Egg Congee Recipe

1 cup rice
300g roast pork or chicken, shreded
couple of spring onions, thinly sliced, some left for garnishing
1 century egg, shell peeled, cut into quarters ad roughly chopped, reserve one quarter for garnishing
salt and pepper to taste
fried shallots for garnishing

Place rice in a pot and add water. (Congee requires alot of water. I never measure, cause I find that I'm constantly topping it up with water anyway). Bring to boil and simmer gently until rice is cooked and broth thickens. Make sure you stir constantly.
Add the egg, meat and spring onions. stir to combine. Continue to simmer for 5 mins (add water if required). Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with fried shallots, extra chopped eggs and spring onions.