Congee with Pork Liver, Sausage and Intestines (Jidi Zhou)

Congee with Pork Liver, Sausage and Intestines (Jidi Zhou)

　　Legend has it that during the Ming Dynasty, in Xiguan, Guangzhou, there was a little boy named Lun Wenxu. Due to poverty, he started selling vegetables at the age of seven. He loved composing poetry from a young age, and people in the market often asked him to recite poems.

　　One day, while carrying half 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 poetry-loving boy Lun Wenxu and said to him, “Why don’t you go to school? It’s such a waste for you to be selling vegetables in the market.” Lun Wenxu replied, “My family is poor, and we have no money.” The shop owner said, “How about this: from now on, bring your vegetables here every day. I’ll buy some of them, and I’ll also give you a bowl of congee each day. Once you’ve saved up enough money, you can go to school!”

　　From then on, Lun Wenxu ate different kinds of congee every day—sometimes meatball congee, sometimes pork intestinal congee, sometimes pork liver congee, and sometimes all three. Several years later, Lun Wenxu topped the imperial examinations and became the top scholar. Not forgetting the kindness of the shop owner, he returned to his hometown for a visit and went to see the old shop owner the very next day. He asked the shop owner to make him a bowl of congee. The shop owner had a bowl of congee made with meatballs, intestines, and pork liver, and served it to Scholar Lun. Lun Wenxu then named this congee “Jidi Zhou” (Congee of the Top Scholar).

　　Nowadays, many parents buy “Jidi Zhou” for their children to eat, hoping for good luck.

　　Why is congee made with pork, pork liver, and pork intestines called Jidi Zhou (Congee of the Top Scholar)? There’s a story behind it: In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a pork vendor in Guangzhou who walked through the streets selling his goods. Every day, he passed by a private school, whose teacher was one of his regular customers. The vendor was illiterate, but to help keep track of his sales, he asked the teacher to teach him how to recognize the characters for “pork,” “pork liver,” and “pork intestines.” One year, when the imperial examinations were being held, some people encouraged the vendor to take the test, saying that success depended on accumulated virtue. The vendor believed them and wrote only the seven characters “pork, pork liver, pork intestines” on his exam paper. To his surprise, the chief examiner turned out to be the same teacher who had taught him those words. Wanting to give the vendor a pleasant surprise, the teacher substituted his own essay for the vendor’s. As a result, the vendor passed the exam. After the examination, fearing the vendor might try again, the teacher instructed his colleagues that if any future exam paper contained the words “pork, pork liver, pork intestines,” it should be disqualified. However, when the next round of exams took place, the vendor showed up again, wrote the same seven characters, and handed in his paper. The examiner was amused and baffled but, recalling the previous examiner’s instructions, thought it might be a hint to offer some leniency. So he had someone write an essay for the vendor, allowing him to pass again. As the date for the capital exams approached, the vendor decided to travel to the capital to enjoy the sights along the way, so he packed his bags and set off. Unfortunately, by the time he arrived in the capital, registration had already closed, and he stood outside the exam site dumbfounded. Just then, a prince happened to pass by and dropped a lantern. The vendor picked it up, entered the examination grounds, placed the lantern beside his seat, wrote the same seven words on his exam paper, and submitted it. The examiner was stunned upon seeing the paper, but considering that the lantern belonged to the prince’s residence, there must be a reason behind it. So once again, he had someone write an essay for the vendor, allowing him to pass yet again. Later, someone asked him, “How did you manage to pass the exams three times?” The vendor replied, “Pork, pork liver, and pork intestines.”

　　Recipe: Ingredients: pork liver, small pork meatballs, dried shrimp. Method: 1. Remove the blood from the pork liver, then slice it thinly. 2. Season the small pork meatballs with salt, and chop the dried shrimp. 3. When the rice porridge comes to a boil, first add the dried shrimp, then the small pork meatballs when the porridge is nine-tenths cooked, and finally the thin slices of pork liver. Adjust the seasoning to taste, and it’s done.