Grandma’s BBQ Pork Leg and Choy Gorn Congee is the best way to turn barbecue leftovers into delicious comfort food! It’s slow cooked with peanuts, dried red dates and bok choy for a deeply fragrant rice porridge that’ll warm your soul.
If rice porridge is your type of food, try our vegetarian, beef, chicken, fish, century egg or offal versions!
A home treasure worth keeping
You KNOW this is an authentic home recipe because for the life of me, I can’t think of or find its English name equivalent. So I’m translating it to its literal form: BBQ Pork Leg and Choy Gorn Congee!
I grew up loving this rice porridge for all the reasons why I love Grandma’s Cantonese soups – the ingredients have been cooked for long enough to infuse deeply with one another and the dish is incredibly soothing from simple and humble flavors.
Plus, the textures are incredible. While the congee’s thick and velvety, it also comes loaded with delicate leaf folds and soft yet crunchy peanuts. You can slurp, you can chew or you can bite. They’re all part of the experience!
What I also love is how the seasoning from the meat cooks into the broth. It’s like a cheat way of getting more flavor! Then pair it with the earthy floral aroma from the dried bok choy (I adore that flavor all on its own), the caramel sweetness from dried dates and the creamy nuttiness from peanuts and you’ve got a meal that’ll take you back to places didn’t know you missed!
For a heartwarming bowl that’s full of nostalgia, comfort and simplicity, you’ve got to try this recipe!
Why this recipe works
- Using store-bought bones infuses a wider range of seasoning as it cooks.
- Blanched peanuts add texture as well as a nutty fragrance to the dish.
- Dried red dates act as a natural sweetener with a flavor similar to caramel.
What you’ll need
About the ingredients
We get our BBQ pork bones and leg meat from Chinese BBQ meat shops. It’s important to ask them to cut them up into chunks for you so you don’t have to at home.
All the other ingredients can be purchased from Asian supermarkets in packets in the dried goods section.
How to make this recipe
Rinse then soak the dehydrated bok choy overnight. Make sure to replace the water at least 2 times – once at 15 minutes and the second time at the 30 minute mark.
Soak the blanched peanuts for 1 hour. Drain, then set aside.
Note: If you prefer your peanuts harder, soak them for a shorter period of time.
Bring the stock to a boil and add the bones and meat in. Let it simmer on a low-medium heat for a minimum of 1 hour or until the meat has softened.
Wash and drain the choy gorn.
Use scissors to cut off the hard ends of the dried vegetable.
When the bone meat has softened, add the rehydrated bok choy, soaked blanched peanuts and dried red dates.
Pour in the rice and season with the salt and chicken bouillon powder. Let it simmer for 1 hour or until the rice is cooked.
Serve hot as is!
Recipe FAQs
Certainly! Just keep in mind that the flavors might be slightly different, so adjust the seasoning to your preference.
Yes, you can! If you prefer parts other than the leg, opt for something that you’ll enjoy eating. The BBQ shops will offer a range of cuts. You can even substitute it for crackling pork (the one Grandma uses for her stir fry).
Definitely! Just keep in mind that it’ll need to be adjusted to cook for longer so the meat and vegetables will soften.
Tips for the best results
- Simmer for longer. Whether it’s the stock or the after the rice goes in, the longer it slow cooks for, the more flavor.
- Use fresh BBQ pork meat and bones. While this recipe is a great way to use up the leftovers, it’ll taste better with a new batch.
- Make your own stock. This means you can increase the quality of the broth by adding more bones and meat.
- Stir all the way to the bottom every 15 minutes. Doing so will prevent the rice from sticking to the pot’s base and burning.
What to serve it with
Grandma’s congee is terrific enough to have on its own, but if you want to make it a feast, try some or all of this combination:
- Whet everyone’s appetite by bringing out Steamed Oysters with Ginger and Shallots.
- Throw in some fresh greens with a plate of Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce (蠔油芥籣).
- XO Sauce (XO 酱) will kick the spice and flavor level up.
- Ching Bo Leung (清補涼) is a refreshing way to balance the palette!
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BBQ Pork Leg and Choy Gorn Congee
Equipment
- Scissors
- Colander
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 US cup rice (rinsed)
- 1 bag choy gorn (a.k.a. dried bok choy)
- 3/4 US cup blanched peanuts
- 6 L chicken and pork stock
- 1 BBQ pork leg
- 500 g / 1.1 lb BBQ pork meat (the part near the leg)
- 1 kg / 2.2 lb BBQ pork bones
- 1 3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 1/4 tbsp chicken bouillon powder (or to preference)
- 10 dried red dates
Instructions
- Rinse then soak the dehydrated bok choy overnight. Make sure to replace the water at least 2 times - once at 15 minutes and the second time at the 30 minute mark.
- Soak the blanched peanuts for 1 hour. Drain, then set aside.Note: If you prefer your peanuts harder, soak them for a shorter period of time.
- Bring the stock to a boil and add the bones and meat in. Let it simmer on a low-medium heat for a minimum of 1 hour or until the meat has softened.
- Wash and drain the choy gorn.
- Use scissors to cut off the hard ends of the dried vegetable.
- When the bone meat has softened, add the rehydrated bok choy, soaked blanched peanuts and dried red dates.
- Pour in the rice and season with the salt and chicken bouillon powder. Let it simmer for 1 hour or until the rice is cooked.
- Serve hot as is!
Notes
- Simmer for longer. Whether it's the stock or the after the rice goes in, the longer it slow cooks for, the more flavor.
- Use fresh BBQ pork meat and bones. While this recipe is a great way to use up the leftovers, it'll taste better with a new batch.
- Make your own stock. This means you can increase the quality of the broth by adding more bones and meat.
- Stir all the way to the bottom every 15 minutes. Doing so will prevent the rice from sticking to the pot's base and burning.
- We get our BBQ pork bones and leg meat from Chinese BBQ meat shops. It's important to ask them to cut them up into chunks for you so you don't have to at home.
- All the other ingredients can be purchased from Asian supermarkets in packets in the dried goods section.
Very interesting recipe! I love congee and made fish congee last week. I’ve never heard of dried bok choy but you make it sound so good I’ll have to look for it and give it a try in this congee.
Hi, Sue! I love dried bok choy in congee and I hope you get to try it one day too! It’s delicious 😀