The century egg is used here to aid in the breaking down of the rice grains, which cuts down the cooking time - you can't taste it at all in the final product, for those who may be squeamish about the eggs. I've also got congee recipes in my first and second book, both variations of the one listed below. One thing's the constant though - using a mix of both Thai Hom Mali rice and white glutinous rice for the ideal congee texture. Play around and experiment, and perhaps tell me which congee recipe is your favourite. I can't possibly pick :b

Ingredients

• 100g Thai Hom mali rice

• 50g White glutinous rice

• 2 liters of water/stock

• 1 Century egg

• 1 Slice of ginger, crushed

• 200g White Fish fillet of your choice, sliced

• 200g Minced pork (marinated with 1.5teaspoons light soy, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, white pepper)

• Salt, to taste

• Light soy, sesame oil, ginger slices and cilantro (optional) to serve with

Directions

• Soak your rice overnight. Drain. Mash one century egg up and mix it up with your rice. Let it sit for half hour for the century egg to work its magic on the grains.

• Add the rice, stock/water and ginger into a large, heavy-bottom pot. Let everything simmer over really, really low heat, until the rice grains are all broken down and the porridge looks homogenous. This process can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent the congee from sticking to the bottom of the pot, and top up with water any time it looks like the water is evaporating too quickly

• When the rice grains are simmering up, marinate your minced pork (measurements on the ingredient list) and set it aside in the fridge.

• When the texture of congee is cooked to your liking - meaning the viscosity of the porridge, and how much the rice grains have broken down, season to taste with salt. Then finally, add in your marinated pork mince and sliced fish. When the protein is fully cooked through, switch off the heat and plate up!

• To serve, portion the piping hot gruel into bowls. Top with (your choice of):sprigs of cilantro, spring onions, fried shallots, ginger shreds, light soy drizzle, a trickle of toasted sesame oil, a dash of white pepper... Enjoy!