Keyword: chinese congee, pork congee, pork meatball congee
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 1 hourhour
Total Time: 1 hourhour15 minutesminutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 420kcal
Author: Bee Leng
Don't you simply love the thick, creamy consistency of Pork Meatball Congee With Scallops served at top-notch Cantonese restaurants? Here's the recipe on how to make this sweet and flavourful congee at home, without the long hours typically needed!
Wash the rice and drain off the water. Add in the 2 tsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt to the rice and mix well and leave in the freezer until ready to cook. (do this a few hours beforehand.)
Meanwhile, wash the pork and mince it. Add all the marinade ingredients to the pork and mix well, then set aside for later use.
Wash the dried baby scallops, then soak them in half a bowl of boiling water until ready to cook.
Wash the spring onions and slice them into small pieces.
COOKING METHOD
Pour 1.5 litres of boiling water into a large pot, then add in all the scallops including the water used for soaking the scallops. Cover the pot with the lid, leaving a gap to prevent the water from bubbling over. Then bring it to a boil, and simmer for 15 mins over medium heat.
After 15 minutes, turn the heat up to high. Once boiling vigorously, take out the rice from the freezer and pour it straight into the pot. Stir mixture until grains separate to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Continue to cook over medium heat with lid half covered, stirring mixture constantly until grains begin to break up (about 20-30 mins).
Once the rice starts to break up and the mixture becomes slightly starchy, turn heat to low and continue to stir constantly for another 10 mins. Add salt and light soy sauce to taste.
Next, choose 1 of 3 alternatives to cook the meatballs in the congee.
ALTERNATIVE A: COOK EACH BOWL SEPARATELY (40 MIN) (traditional method used in congee stalls but more time consuming)
Scoop out one bowl of porridge into a small pot and set it over a medium flame.
Next, take a spoonful of the minced pork mixture and shape it into a ball, then add it into the porridge. Continue to make 3-4 more meatballs and add them to the porridge stirring gently until the meat balls are cooked thoroughly (about 5-10 mins).
Crack an egg into the serving bowl. Pour the hot porridge over the egg, ensuring the egg is completely submerged underneath the porridge.
Repeat above until you have 4 bowls of congee, then add a dash of pepper, sesame oil and light soya sauce to each bowl.
Next, top each bowl with the rest of the garnishing and serve hot.
ALTERNATIVE B: USE A THINNER CONGEE (15 MIN) (allows you to cook all the meatballs at one go)
Add 3/4 -1 bowls of water to the congee ( depending on how diluted you want) and bring to a boil, stirring it constantly to prevent it from getting burnt.
Next, take a spoonful of the minced pork mixture and shape it into a ball, then add it into the porridge. Continue to add more meatballs to the porridge until all the minced pork is used, stirring gently until the meat balls are cooked thoroughly (about 10-15 mins).
Crack an egg into each of the 4 serving bowls, then pour the hot porridge over the egg, ensuring the egg is completely submerged underneath the porridge.
Next, add a dash of pepper, sesame oil and light soya sauce to each bowl and top each bowl with the rest of the garnishing. Best served piping hot.
ALTERNATIVE C: MAKE SMALLER MEATBALLS (15 MIN) (allows you to cook all the meatballs at one go)
Take half a spoonful of the minced pork mixture and shape it into a ball, then add it into the porridge. Continue to add more meatballs to the porridge until all the minced pork is used it, stirring gently until the meat balls are cooked thoroughly (about 10 mins).
Crack an egg into each of the 4 serving bowls, then pour the hot porridge over the egg, ensuring the egg is completely submerged underneath the porridge.
Next, add a dash of pepper, sesame oil and light soya sauce to each bowl and top each bowl with the rest of the garnishing. Best served piping hot.
Notes
COOKING TIPS
Wash and drain the rice and leave it in the freezer well ahead of time (a few hours before) until ready to cook. The moisture in the rice will expand upon freezing and the frozen rice is pour into the pot of hot boiling water immediately. The grain will crack and thus reduce the cooking time tremendously.
Keep stirring the porridge, especially when it turns a bit starchy. This is to prevent the porridge in the bottom of the pot from getting burnt and to further break up the rice grains.
If the porridge is too starchy, add a little more water depending on how thick or diluted you want your porridge to be.When the porridge cools down, it will become more starchy as the rice absorbs more water.
Ensure the egg is at room temperature or it will not cook easily.
Stir gently when stirring the meatballs in the congee, or the meatballs will break up and disintegrate.
ALTERNATIVES
Substitute the pork with chicken or beef if that is your preference.
'Tung Chai' (preserved cabbage) can be added as a topping but you will need to control the amount as it is rather salty. Simply give the Tung Chai a rinse under the tap to get rid of any foreign particles and excess salt, then squeeze dry to get rid of the excess water before adding it into the porridge.
Cook the meatballs directly in the congee as this adds sweetness and flavour to the congee, but it is also tricky because it is hard for the heat to penetrate the starchy consistency of the congee.
My own preference and recommendation is Alternative A. Why? Firstly, I prefer to cook the meatballs in small batches to ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly. Secondly, it is easier for the heat to penetrate through the starchy congee when it is in small batches, as compared to a whole pot.
WANT A MORE LIQUIDY PORRIDGE?
If you prefer a more liquid and smooth consistency...
add more water and stir vigorously. The rice grains are already very soft, so they will easily break up as you stir.
An even easier way is to use a hand blender(choose one which is at least 600W and with stainless steel rods and blades to withstand the heat) to blend the congee after cooking, just before you add in the meatballs to cook.