Century Egg Congee with Chicken (皮蛋瘦肉粥)

Century egg congee, or 皮蛋瘦肉粥 (Pi Dan Shou Rou Zhou), is one of the ultimate comfort foods I’ve enjoyed since I was very young. My mom would usually cook plain congee or millet congee for everyday dinners. But once in a while when she had extra time, she would cook the century egg congee for me as a treat.

Why this recipe

To cook the traditional century egg congee, you need to simmer the congee on the stovetop until the grains are tender, then add the sliced marinated pork and the century eggs to finish it up. It requires quite a bit of prep and hands-on cooking, because you will need to monitor the congee and stir it frequently. 

When I cook it at home, I use a much more laid back approach using the Instant Pot (or pressure cooker). I also use chicken instead of pork, because it simplifies the cooking by skipping the cutting and marinating, and it tastes great. By using the Instant Pot, the grains will release more starch during cooking so you get extra silky and creamy congee. The chicken will be fork-tender so that it pretty much falls apart when you stir up the congee. 

You only need 5 minutes to put everything together and the result is so good!

Century egg congee ingredients

Between packing up and settling into my new home, I’m super behind on recipe development and have somehow been craving comfort food like crazy. That’s why I want to share my favorite dish from when I was growing up.

1. Century egg

The century egg (皮蛋), or thousand-year egg, is a duck egg preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls for several months. During the curing process, the yolk turns grayish dark green with a creamy consistency. The white of the egg becomes a dark brown translucent jelly with a salty taste. The eggs have a strong savory umami that’s similar to aged cheese. 

In Chinese cooking, we use it to make century egg congee or make it into a cold appetizer. 

You can easily find them at Chinese markets. My favorite brand is Wei-Chuan. You can even find them on Amazon these days.

2. Chicken vs. pork

Growing up in northern China, most of the century egg congee I had was made with pork strips. However, I really love the version served at Jin Ding Xuan (金鼎轩), a famous Cantonese dim sum chain that I used to visit frequently. Their congee is made with shredded chicken instead. I decided to make the chicken version for this recipe. It’s easier to make than the pork version and I love the taste.

If you prefer the pork version, what you can do is cook the congee first. Then use the method documented in my hot and sour soup recipe to add the pork at the end of cooking.

3. What type of rice to use

To make a very creamy congee, you should use short grain white rice. It creates a much creamier texture than other types of rice. Medium grain works as well, but the congee will be a bit thinner. I would avoid long grain rice.

4. Toppings

In China many restaurants add crispy fried chips (made from wheat flour) on top of their century egg congee. It adds such a great texture. To recreate those chips, you can bake some wonton wrappers until crispy and break them apart to top onto the congee. Check out my previous post on how to bake the wonton wrappers (you don’t need to make them into a cup shape; simply using a baking sheet is enough).

Of course, you can totally skip these chips and the result of the congee will still be super tasty. 

How to cook century egg congee

Cooking century egg congee in the Instant pot is super easy.

1. Add the rice, chicken broth and seasonings
2. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes
3. Shred the chicken (the chicken will be so tender that you can easily shred it in the pot)
4. Add the century egg and green onion

The reason I love this century egg congee recipe is that it requires very little active cooking time. Unlike the pork version, which requires you to cut and marinate the meat, the chicken version doesn’t require any of that prep work. You can even use frozen chicken without defrosting it. 

I hope you enjoy the dish as much as I do.

More traditional Chinese comfort food

• Scallion Pancakes
• Chinese Sliced Tofu Salad
• Chinese 4-Ingredient Fried Cabbage
• Mom’s Best Braised Pork Ribs
• Moo Shu Vegetables

Century Egg Congee with Chicken (皮蛋瘦肉粥)

By Maggie Zhu

4.88 from 8 votes

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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Classic century egg congee made in the Instant pot to get extra creamy congee with tender chicken with just 5 minutes prep. A stovetop version is included as well. {Gluten-Free adaptable}

To make this dish gluten-free, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine.

Ingredients 

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) uncooked short grain white rice (or medium grain)
• 4 cups chicken broth (*Footnote 1)
• 2 (about 10 oz. / 300 g) chicken thighs , frozen cuts work, too, if using Instant Pot
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 2 teaspoons ginger , finely minced
• 2 century eggs , diced
• 2 green onions , thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt , or to taste
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• Fried wonton wrapper , for topping (*Footnote 2) (Optional)

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Instructions

• Add the rice into a medium-sized bowl and water to cover. Gently rinse the rice a few times with your fingers and drain. Repeat one to two more times. Drain well.

Method 1 – Use an Instant Pot

• Combine the rice, stock, chicken, Shaoxing wine, and ginger in your Instant Pot. Set it to cook at high pressure for 15 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, cook over medium heat until pressure is added, then cook at low heat for 15 minutes. Once done, release the pressure naturally for at least 10 minutes before releasing it quickly. Note, do not use fast release right after cooking, because the congee is starchy and might cause the valve to clog.
• Once the pressure is released, uncover the pot, remove the chicken and place it onto a plate. Shred it with two forks.
• Add the century eggs, green onion, sesame oil (if using), and the shredded chicken to the pot. Stir to mix well. Taste the congee and add salt if needed.

Method 2 – Stovetop method

• Combine the rice, stock, Shaoxing wine, ginger, and 2 cups of water in a big pot.
• Cook over medium-high heat until brought to a simmer. Turn to low heat. Cover the pot and leave a finger-wide gap between the lid and the edge of the pot, to allow more steam to escape and prevent the congee from spilling or boiling over. Simmer for 25 minutes.
• Add the chicken. Cook for another 15 minutes. Remove the chicken breast and place it onto a plate.
• If the congee has reached the desired texture when the chicken is done, turn off the heat. Transfer the chicken to a plate and shred it with two forks. If you want a stickier and thicker congee, remove the chicken first, then keep cooking the congee for another 15 to 20 minutes. Note, the congee will get quite thick and sticky towards the end. Stay near the pot and stir frequently.
• When the congee reaches the desired texture, add back the shredded chicken. Add the century eggs, green onion, and sesame oil (if using) to the pot. Stir to mix well. Taste the congee and add salt to taste if needed.

To serve

• Transfer the congee into small bowls. Top it with a spoonful of fried wonton wrapper chips, if using. Serve hot.

Video

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. If you cook the dish on the stovetop, you might need a bit more chicken stock or water, depending on how much liquid evaporates during the cooking process.
2. Frozen chicken only works in the pressure cooker. You should not use frozen chicken if cooking on the stovetop, because the chicken won’t be cooked evenly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving

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The blog post was published on March 17, 2019 and updated on Sep 10, 2022 with new photos and video.