Century egg porridge recipes

Century egg is a type of preserved egg. In mandarin, it is known as pi dan 皮蛋 which roughly translates as "leather egg".

This could be because of its colour. See the plate of quartered egg below? That's how a pi dan looks like. Brown egg white with greyish yolk.

source: irrational cat at flickr

The egg white is like firm jelly and is tasteless while the egg yolk is creamy. Some say it has a sulphurous smell. I had very little encounter with sulphur, so I can't say. To me, it does not have a strong smell.

An interesting tidbit is the snowflake-like patterns that sometimes appear on the egg white. It used to fascinate me when I was a child. The next time you encounter the century egg, try looking closely for these patterns.

Bizarre food?

I was quite surprised by the fuss surrounding this very "old" egg. It is interesting to note that it is considered a bizarre food in many parts of the world.

I saw a few youtube videos of people trying it for the first time. I knew they were going to gag or throw up because most of them took such huge bites which would obviously be overpowering. Would anyone consider wolfing down an entire piece of blue cheese? You would slice a little piece and smear it thinly on a large biscuit right? The same goes for the century egg.

Having said that, many people still do not like the taste as it can be quite strong. Alex of Justcookit.blogspot.com wrote a controversial post of his first encounter with it. If you need a good chuckle, head on over.

I have probably acquired a taste for it because I can eat it on its own with just some preserved ginger.It is also commonly added finely chopped to steamed egg custard and of course, in rice congee.

I suggest brave newbies try it in very small pieces and never on its own. Eat it with lots of congee.(^__^). See how it is done by this chap from So You Don't Have To.

Now for some century egg pork congee recipes.

Recipe No.1

Ingredients
2 century eggs
225g lean pork
8 cups of plain rice porridge
1 fried doughstick (you tiao 油条) (optional)
1 tbsp sliced ginger
1 tbsp chopped spring onion
1 sprig of coriander

Seasonings
Pinch of pepper
1 1/3 tbsp salt
dash of sesame seed oil

Directions

1. Remove the shell of the egg and cut into small cubes
2. Marinate the lean pork with 1 tbsp of salt
3. Cut the fried dough into small pieces
4. Cook 8 cups of plain rice porridge
5. Add the egg, lean pork, ginger and the seasonings
6. Cook a further 5 minutes
7. Serve with the fried dough, coriander, and spring onion

Recipe No.2

Ingredients
150g pork belly
2 century eggs
1 piece of fried dough sticks (you tiao 油条) (optional)
1 stalk of spring onion
1 cup of rice
7 cups of soup stock
salt and pepper
1 tsp sesame seed oil

Marinate for the pork
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp cornstarch

Directions

1. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes
2. Place rice in a pot and add the soup stock
3. Bring it to a boil and lower heat to a simmer and cook till done
4. Cut the fried dough into small bite-sized pieces
5. Cut the pork belly into strips, add the marinate for the pork belly and leave to stand for 5 minutes
6. Deshell the eggs and cut into small cubes
7. Wash and chop the spring onions
8. Add the pork belly to the porridge and cook till done
9. Add the egg, fried dough, salt, pepper and sesame seed oil before serving

Want to use this recipe on your blog or online journal? Go ahead but do include the text below. Highlight, copy and paste.
Recipe source: <a href="http://www.homemade-chinese-soups.com/century-egg-pork-congee.html">Century egg pork congee</a>

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