Cháo Lòng is Vietnam’s bold and hearty Pork Offal Congee that’s loved by locals! Every ingredient is simmered until tender while the meat juices enrich the broth. It’s garnished using fresh herbs and aromatics to highlight the variety of textures.
Feed your love of rice porridge with our chicken, beef, century egg or fish versions!
A dish of survival
I know our Cháo Lòng recipe has the potential to spark a heated debate. Some of you will welcome it with open arms and appreciate the warm family memories it sparks. Then there’ll be some of you who will run in the opposite direction and make it clear that you do not want anything to do with it.
Which one are you, I wonder?
I’ve written my fair share of recipes with passionate lovers and haters - Sinh Tố Sầu Riêng (Durian Shake), Bún Mắm (Fermented Fish Noodle Soup) and Bittermelon Stir Fry with Eggs just to name a few. And while it’s easy to shy away from publishing these types of dishes, I’d say it’s even more important to preserve the cultural cuisines that celebrate our history.
You see, Cháo Lòng is not just a Saturday evening rice porridge Grandma makes. Sure, the grains are simmered long and slow until they have a velvet melt-in-your-mouth texture. And yes, the offal variety is exciting because each spoonful is like uncovering a surprise; you just don’t know what you’ll get.
But down to its very core, this humble congee is a story of poverty, hardship, perseverance and family. When food is scarce and survival consumes everything, you really have to make the most of what you have!
Why is organ meat good for you?
For those of you who enjoy eating Cháo Lòng (and for those who steer clear from it), you may be surprised to know that organ meats are quite rich in nutrients.
These nutrients are tightly packed in each organ, which makes them a fantastic source of vitamins and minerals. You’ll find that they’re even more dense in nutrients compared to the typical muscle meats we eat!
Different organ meats will have different health benefits, but many of them are high in protein and come loaded with minerals including iron, copper, calcium, potassium, zinc and phosphorous.
Vitamins B12, 1, 2 and 6 are also known to be concentrated in offal. Having these vitamins help with the nervous system, support brain health and assist in turning the food you eat into energy.
While these health benefits play a part in the consumption of organ meat, it is also important to note that liver and heart have high levels of cholesterol. It is for this reason that they’re advised to be eaten in moderation.
But if you’re after getting the most nutrients out of your rice porridge, Cháo Lòng is the way to go!
Why this recipe works
- Salting, washing and boiling the offal keeps the flavor clean.
- Adding pork bones means you have more meat to munch on and it also infuses the Cháo Lòng with a light sweetness.
- Cooking the small intestines and pork stomach for an hour helps to soften them while keeping an enjoyable chew.
What you’ll need
For the rice
About the grains
For our Cháo Lòng recipe, we use a combination of glutinous rice and Jasmine 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.
For the meat
About the offal
While there are a few different types of offal in our homemade Cháo Lòng, 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.
How to make this recipe
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.
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.
Each offal will have different cooking times. To start, 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.
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.
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!
Recipe FAQs
Tips for the best results
- 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 Cháo Lòng 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. We do this with our Phở Chay (Vegetarian Phở) to bring out its sweetness and infuse a smoky flavor to the broth.
More offal recipes
- Braised Beef Honeycomb Tripe - Learn how to clean and braise this dim sum classic until tender and satisfyingly chewy.
- Miến Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Glass Noodle Soup) - Make the most of chicken offal with a classic chicken noodle soup.
- Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang (Vietnamese Pork and Prawn Clear Noodle Soup) - This is a Chinese-Vietnamese-Cambodian fusion that balances seafood and pork in a simple broth.
- Cà Ri Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Curry) - Thick, creamy and incredibly satisfying, pair the crusty baguettes with some chicken gizzards.
- Seafood Rolls - Cleverly tucked away, these restaurant style appetizers use pork net to wrap the seafood up for a deliciously fragrant bite!
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