Szechuan Chilli Pork Congee - Chef Recipe by Sam Terronova

Ingredients

150g XO paste
1 stick of lemongrass, slightly bruised
100g ginger, peeled
2L water
2 garlic cloves
500g medium grain rice, washed
3 soft-boiled eggs
1 bunch enoki mushrooms, fried
1 stick Chinese doughnut
1 bunch gai lan, grilled
1 punnet shiitake mushrooms, sautéed
20gn fried shallots
50mL Szechuan chilli oil
200g pork belly, deep fried until crispy

Method

Stock:

Add XO paste, lemongrass, ginger, garlic and water to a medium pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling, simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until all the flavours merge together.

Rice:

Cook washed rice in a medium heavy-based pot with 1 litre of stock to 500g rice with the lid on until tender. After about 15 minutes, add another 500mL of stock and stir through to create a thick wet rice (porridge consistency) base for the congee.

Reserve any remaining stock for later use.

To serve:

Use a deep serving bowl. Put rice base on the bottom – about two good kitchen spoonfuls – then top with crispy pork belly, grilled gai lan, sautéed mushrooms, soft boiled egg and fried shallots. Dress with Szechuan chilli oil.

Recipe provided by Dumbo