Offal Porridge (Cháo Lòng)

Ingredients

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 tablespoons glutinous rice
• 3 pounds pork bones
• 12 cups water
• 1 pound pork small intestine, cleaned
• 1/2 pound pork liver
• 1/2 pound pork stomach, cleaned
• 1 block pork blood cake
• 1 medium onion, halved
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced and fried, divided
• 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), chopped
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• 2 Thai chiles, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Method

1. 1

   Rinse the jasmine rice and glutinous rice together until the water runs mostly clear, then drain well.

2. 2

   Blanch the pork bones in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes to remove impurities, then drain and rinse under cold water.

   5:00 · Blanch bones
3. 3

   In a 12-quart stock pot, combine the blanched pork bones, water, onion halves, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, skimming foam occasionally.

   1:30:00 · Simmer bone broth
4. 4

   Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of water to a boil and blanch the pork intestine and stomach for 3 minutes to firm up and remove odor. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

   3:00 · Blanch offal
5. 5

   Return the blanched intestine and stomach to a clean pot of water and simmer gently until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain, cool, and slice into bite-sized pieces.

   45:00 · Simmer intestine and stomach
6. 6

   Simmer the pork liver in a small pot of water until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain, cool, and slice thinly.

   10:00 · Cook liver
7. 7

   Steam or simmer the pork blood cake until firm and cooked through, about 15 minutes, then slice into cubes.

   15:00 · Cook blood cake
8. 8

   Once the broth has simmered, strain it through a fine mesh sieve into a clean 6-quart saucepan, discarding the bones, onion, and peppercorns. You should have about 8 cups of broth.

9. 9

   Add the drained rice to the strained broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the rice breaks down into a creamy porridge.

   45:00 · Simmer porridge
10. 10

    Heat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant and golden, about 1 minute.

    1:00 · Sauté garlic
11. 11

    Stir the garlic oil into the porridge along with the fish sauce, salt, and white pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.

    5:00 · Simmer after seasoning
12. 12

    Stir half of the fried shallots and the sliced intestine, stomach, liver, and blood cake into the porridge, reserving some of each for topping. Warm through for 2 to 3 minutes.

    3:00 · Warm offal in porridge
13. 13

    Ladle the porridge into bowls and top with the reserved offal, remaining fried shallots, scallions, cilantro, mint, and Vietnamese coriander.

14. 14

    Serve hot with lime wedges, sliced Thai chiles, and rice vinegar on the side for guests to adjust to taste.