Congee of the Number One Scholar

Congee of the Number One Scholar

　　Congee of the Number One Scholar is one of the traditional Han Chinese snacks in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It is a type of congee that originated from related historical stories and legends. Nowadays, many parents buy “Number One Scholar’s congee” for their children to eat at home as a gesture of good luck. It is richly aromatic, delicious, and has a deep flavor.

　　It is said that during the Ming Dynasty, in Xiguan, Guangzhou, there was a little boy named Lun Wenxu who loved composing poetry from a young age. Due to his family’s poverty, he started selling vegetables in the streets as a child.

　　One day, while carrying a load of vegetables past a congee shop on Conggui Road, his stomach growled with hunger, but he had no money to buy any. The shop owner recognized him as the poetic prodigy Lun Wenxu and allowed him to bring his vegetables to the shop daily. In exchange, the shop owner would help sell some of them and gave Lun a bowl of congee each day.

　　From then on, Lun Wenxu enjoyed a different kind of congee every day. Several years later, Lun Wenxu achieved the top rank in the imperial examinations. Not forgetting the kindness of the shop owner, he returned to his hometown for a visit and the very next day went to see the old shop owner. He asked the owner to cook a bowl of congee for him. The shop owner prepared a bowl of congee with meatballs, pork intestines, and pork liver, which was served to Scholar Lun. Lun Wenxu then named this congee “Congee of the Number One Scholar.”

　　There is another story about the Congee of the Number One Scholar. During the late Qing Dynasty, there was a pork vendor in Guangzhou who sold his goods on the street every day and passed by a private school. The schoolteacher was one of his regular customers. The vendor was illiterate but, in order to keep track of his sales, asked the teacher...

　　...to teach him how to recognize the characters for “pork,” “pork liver,” and “pork intestines.”

　　In one year when the imperial examinations were about to begin, someone encouraged the pork vendor to take the test. Believing it to be true, he actually went and participated. The first time, the chief examiner happened to be the same schoolteacher who had known him. Intending to let the vendor down gently, the teacher wrote the exam essay for him himself—and as a result, the vendor passed. Later, the teacher, worried that the vendor might try again, instructed his colleagues to disqualify any test paper that included the phrases “pork,” “pork liver,” and “pork intestines.” However, the colleagues misunderstood and still allowed the vendor to pass. Thus, the vendor passed once again. When it came time for the metropolitan examination in the capital, the vendor found a lantern belonging to a royal residence and hung it in the examination hall. The chief examiner recognized the lantern as a palace item and assumed there was a special reason behind it, so he wrote the essay for the vendor. As a result, the vendor passed the metropolitan examination as well.

　　Main Ingredients

　　Rice · 150g, Pork kidney · 75g, Pork liver · 75g, Pork intestines · 75g, Lean pork · 75g, Pork heart · 60g, Pork stomach · 75g, Ginger · a small amount, Coriander · 1 sprig.

　　Seasonings

　　Cooking oil · 5g, Cooking wine · 1/2 tbsp, Pepper · a small amount, Salt · 3 tsp, Sugar · 1/2 tsp.

　　Steps

　　1. Rinse the rice and mix it with a small amount of oil; wash the ginger and slice it thinly, wash the coriander and chop the leaves finely;

　　2. Before cooking the congee, soak the rice in cold water for half an hour to allow the grains to expand;

　　3. Blanch the pork intestines and pork stomach in boiling water, then put them in a pot to cook for 1 hour before slicing; set aside;

　　4. Remove the scent glands from the pork kidneys, blanch them in boiling water, then cut into small pieces; slice the pork liver, pork heart, and lean pork into small pieces, rinse, and marinate with ginger slices, salt, sugar, and cooking wine;

　　5. Place the rice in a congee pot, add water, bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes;

　　6. After switching to low heat for about 10 minutes, add a little salad oil;

　　7. Stir a few times when adding boiling water, cover the pot, and after simmering on low heat for 20 minutes, begin stirring continuously for about 10 minutes until the congee becomes thick and creamy; then serve;

　　8. Add all the prepared ingredients into the cooked white congee, cook until done, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with ginger slices and chopped coriander before serving.

　　Flavor Profile

　　Congee of the Number One Scholar features fresh pork offal as the main ingredient, complemented by ginger and scallion seasonings. It tastes deliciously smooth, richly aromatic, and has a deep, satisfying flavor.

　　Nutritional Value

　　Pork helps to tonify the middle energizer and benefit qi, promote body fluid production, moisten the intestines and stomach, enrich muscles, and nourish skin. It can be consumed by those with yin deficiency, dizziness, anemia, malnutrition, and women experiencing postpartum lactation insufficiency. Pork also provides high-quality protein and essential fatty acids; it supplies heme iron (organic iron) and cysteine, which aids iron absorption, helping to improve iron-deficiency anemia.

　　Lun Wenxu (1467–1513)　　Lun Wenxu (1467–1513), courtesy name Bochou, art name Yugang, was a native of Liyong, Nanhai County, Guangdong (present-day Liyong Village, Lanshi Town, Foshan City, Guangdong Province) during the Ming Dynasty. Born in the third year of the Chenghua era of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming (1467, though some sources say 1466), he died in the eighth year of the Zhengde era of Emperor Wuzong. In the twelfth year of the Hongzhi era (1499) of Emperor Xiaozong, he ranked first in both the metropolitan and palace examinations, becoming the top scholar (Zhuangyuan) and was later appointed as a Hanlin academician-editor.

Orphaned and impoverished from a young age, he and his parents made a living by farming and selling vegetables. His father, Lun Xian, had also received some schooling in his childhood, but due to poverty, he never pursued the imperial examinations. Thus, he placed all his hopes on his young son... [Read more]