The pork never boils for long. It goes in as matchsticks after a short marinade in rice wine and soy, and only needs to turn opaque in the hot congee, which keeps it tender. The yam does the opposite job: it simmers from the start and breaks down to thicken the rice and millet into something closer to a porridge than a soup.
Chinese · Breakfast
Yam and Pork Congee With Millet and Lettuce
Rice and millet simmer with diced yam until the grains break down, then marinated pork, lettuce and a spoon of seasoning go in at the very end.
- Prep15 min
- Cook40 min
- Serves3
- LevelEasy
Ingredients
| 80 g | pork loin , cut into thin strips |
| 1 tbsp | Shaoxing rice wine |
| 1 tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 1 | Chinese yam , peeled and diced |
| 1 spoonful | jasmine rice |
| 1 spoonful | millet |
| 2 leaves | lettuce , shredded |
| 2 g | salt |
| to taste | mushroom seasoning powder |
| as needed | water |
Method
- Slice the pork loin into thin strips, mix it with the rice wine and soy sauce and set it aside to take the seasoning.
- Peel and dice the yam into pieces about the size of a thumbnail.
- Rinse the rice and the millet, put them in a pot with the yam and cover with plenty of water.
- Simmer, stirring now and then so the grains do not catch, until the yam has softened and the congee is thick and slightly sticky.
- Stir the marinated pork through and cook for two or three minutes, until no pink remains.
- Add the shredded lettuce, the salt and the mushroom seasoning, stir once and take the pot off the heat.
Notes
- Add the water hot, not cold, if the pot runs dry. Cold water stops the grains from breaking down.
- Lettuce goes in off the heat. Left to boil it turns olive and loses the fresh edge that cuts the richness.
- The marinade is the only salt the pork gets, so taste the congee before adding more at the end.
Ratios and technique checked against 晓筱家 on Douguo (山药瘦肉粥). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.