Cháo Lòng (Pork Offal Congee)

5 from 2 votes

Cháo Lòng (Pork Offal Congee)

Cháo Lòng is Vietnam's Pork Offal Congee that's loved by locals. Every ingredient is simmered until tender while the meat juices enrich the broth!

Prep Time1 15

Cook Time4

Total Time5 15

Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 275kcal

Author: Jeannette

Equipment

small knife (for cleaning the organs)
scissors (for snipping the intestines)

Ingredients

For The Rice

1/2 US cup glutinous rice
1 US cup rice
3 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
6 tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)
1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
4 L / 17 US cup water
1 onion (skin removed)

For The Meat

500 g / 1.1 lb blood jelly (or to preference)
400 g / 0.88 lb liver (or to preference)
400 g / 0.88 lb kidney (or to preference)
400 g / 0.88 lb small intestine (or to preference)
1 heart
400 g / 0.88 lb stomach ( we bought ours pre-cleaned and semi-cooked from the butcher)
1 kg / 2.2 lb pork bones
salt (for cleaning the offal)
water (for washing the offal)
vinegar (for cleaning the offal)

Instructions

Cooking The Congee

Bring the pot of water to a boil and wash the pork bones. Put the bones in, then wash the rice grains and add them into the water along with the onion. Season with the fish sauce, chicken bouillon powder and salt.
Let it simmer on medium heat while you prepare and cook the offal. Turn the heat down as it reaches your preferred consistency.
Pro Tip: Make sure to stir the rice every 15 minutes so it doesn't stick to the pot's base.

Preparing The Organs

For the heart, Grandma removes then discards all the tough white parts and leaves the deep red sections. By doing this, it reduces the toughness in each bite.
Rub 3 tbsp salt through the heart pieces and wash it off under cool water. Do these cleaning steps 3 more times.
Cut the kidney in half along its length. You will notice a white webbing in the middle. Use a small knife to slice those parts off.
Get 2 tbsp salt and scrub it into the organ. Rinse under cool water, then repeat another 3 times.
We bought our pig stomach pre-cleaned from the butcher, so all we had to do was slice off the clumpy bits around the edges. If you're getting it uncooked, knead 1 tbsp salt into it for 30 seconds, then rinse and repeat 5 times.
Invert the stomach and wash it under hot water before scraping off any loose fat. Flip it back to its original form and rub 1/4 US cup vinegar through for another 2 minutes before washing it off with hot water.
Note: For step-by-step instructions with images, check out our Pig Stomach Soup with Peppercorns (胡椒豬肚湯).
As you clean the offal, place them in a colander to drip dry any liquid that may hold odors.
For the small intestines, pour 2 tbsp salt over them and knead it through. Rinse using cold water and repeat this another 3 times.
Optional: You can also feed a whole peeled garlic clove through the intestines to remove any impurities as seen here.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add them all in. Let it boil for 15 minutes, then pour everything out and rinse it through with cool water. Clean the pot, refill it with fresh water and bring it back to a boil.
Repeat the boiling and rinsing another 2 more times with the small intestines and pig stomach but leave the heart, kidney and liver aside to cool.
On the third water change, let the intestines and stomach simmer on low-medium heat for another 1 hour or until tender.
When soft, drain them in a colander and let them cool.
Meanwhile, pour 4L (17 US cup) water into a pot with 1/2 tsp salt. With the blood jelly still in its container, slice it into rectangular prisms and pour the contents into the water.
Turn the heat up to high and let it come to a slow boil without the lid.
As soon as a layer of bubbles forms on the top, turn the heat off and put the lid on. The remaining heat will cook the blood jelly.
Note: For visual instructions, click here.
Scoop and discard the floating scum off the blood jelly water, then pour 2 US cup of the remaining liquid into the pot of cooking congee. This will slightly darken the Cháo Lòng and add a layer of flavor.
Gently take each blood jelly piece out and cut them into smaller pieces to preference. Put them into the congee.
Pro Tip: Use quick sharp cuts to slice them cleanly. If you cut through slowly, they will break unevenly at the ends.
Thinly slice the heart, liver, kidney and pork stomach. Cut the small intestines into 3cm (1.2") segments and snip off the white webbing.
Bring the heat up to high and pour all the offal into the Cháo Lòng. Stir it through until well combined.
Alternatively, serve the sliced offal separately and dip each piece into some Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước Mắm) to eat it alongside the congee.
Serve the Cháo Lòng hot as is!

Notes

Clean the offal well. Give each organ a sniff before you put it in to boil. If you catch any odors, continue to rub more salt and rinse it through. Alternatively, you can try kneading in vinegar or boiling it with ginger slices.
Don't boil the blood jelly in the congee for too long. The longer it cooks, the more rubbery it becomes. To keep it soft and delicate, you might even consider putting it into the rice porridge last.
Avoid overcooking the organ meat. Kidney and liver will get pasty and tough once it's overcooked.
Char the onion. Do this to bring out its sweetness and infuse a smoky flavor to the broth.
We use a combination of glutinous rice and Jasmine white rice grains. You can mix it up the way we have or use whichever variety you like. Mum often prefers brown rice when she cooks and that would work in this dish as well.
While there are a few different types of offal in this dish, you can choose your favorite ones. Some can be purchased from the butcher's semi cooked and cleaned (like our pig stomach), while others will be sold uncooked. Buying the semi cleaned ones simply means that you'll save some time in the kitchen cleaning it yourself.

Nutrition