‘Century eggs’ are fascinating – after a period of preservation, the egg yolks are magically layered with green and gray, and the egg white are translucently red-brown and beautifully shiny.

A traditional century egg congee is cooked with salted pork. I like to use smoked ham which has enhanced flavor.

Ingredients

• 2 preserved duck eggs (century eggs), sliced into smaller pieces
• 1 cup of smoked ham, diced
• 1 cup of medium grain rice
• 8 cups of water (more or less depending on your preference for the congee’s thickness)
• sliced green shallot (scallion), to garnish

Method

• Add 1 cup of rice, smoked ham and 6 cups of water to a non-stick saucepan, bring to boil; simmer for 2 hours or until the congee to your desired texture, adding more water as it cooks.
• Bring to boil again, add century eggs and and simmer for 15 more minutes.
• To serve, garnish congee with green shallot or coriander (optional)

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