How Many Calories in Century Egg and Pork Congee?

Also known as 皮蛋瘦肉粥, Pei Daan Sau Yuk Zuk, Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee, Century Egg Porridge.

Pei daan sau yuk zuk is rice cooked down for hours into a smooth porridge, with slivers of lean pork and chunks of century egg stirred through. Congee shops and cha chaan tengs serve it from 6am, about HK$25 to HK$35 a bowl.

260kcal / 1 bowl

One bowl of century egg and lean pork congee (about 470g) is around 260 calories, per Centre for Food Safety analysis of Hong Kong congee shops. About 170 calories is the rice congee, 45 is the pork, and 45 is half a century egg. Protein comes in around 14g.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 bowl (470g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	260 kcal	55 kcal
Protein	14 g	3 g
Carbs	38 g	8 g
Fat	6 g	1 g

Where the calories come from

Rice congee400g

170 kcal

Lean pork slivers30g

45 kcal

Century egg (half)25g

45 kcal

The real talk

This is the meal that makes volume eating easy in Hong Kong. A 470g bowl for 260 calories is about the same as a single pineapple bun (310), and it takes 15 minutes to get through. Rice congee is mostly water: the rice itself is only about 40g dry per bowl, stretched into nearly half a kilo of food. You feel full for hours on very little.

The toppings are cheap on calories too. Lean pork slivers are around 30g per bowl, roughly 45 calories and 7g of protein. Half a century egg is about 45 calories and another 3g of protein. The whole bowl is only 6g of fat, which is less than one slab of cha chaan teng butter. Compare that to boat congee (300) or pig giblet congee (310) and the century egg version is the lightest of the popular ones.

What ruins it is the side order. Almost everyone gets a yau tiu (fried dough stick) to dip, and one stick is about 270 calories, more than the congee itself. A zha leung (rice roll wrapped around a dough stick) is 450. So the bowl of congee is 260, but the typical congee shop breakfast with dough stick and a milk tea is 640. The congee was never the problem.

How the portions compare

200 kcal

Small bowl

260 kcal

Standard bowl (470g)

340 kcal

Large bowl with extra egg

Century Egg and Pork Congee variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Plain congee	140 kcal	450g, no toppings
Century egg and lean pork congee	260 kcal	Standard bowl
Boat congee (艇仔粥)	300 kcal	Fish, squid, peanuts, pork skin
Pig giblet congee (及第粥)	310 kcal	Liver, kidney, intestine
Congee with fried dough stick	530 kcal	One yau tiu on the side

How to eat it lighter

Skip the fried dough stick. It adds 270 calories, more than the whole bowl of congee.
Ask for extra lean pork (加瘦肉) if the shop does it. About 40 more calories for 7g more protein.
Add a plain steamed rice roll instead of zha leung if you want something to chew. About 130 calories versus 450.
Go easy on the soy sauce and white pepper. No calories, but a congee shop bowl is already high in sodium from the century egg and stock.

Common questions

How many calories in century egg pork congee?

About 260 calories per 470g bowl, according to Centre for Food Safety data from Hong Kong congee shops.

Is congee good for weight loss?

Yes, if you skip the fried dough stick. A bowl is 260 calories, very filling, and has 14g of protein. The dough stick adds 270 calories on its own.

Is century egg high in calories?

No. One whole century egg is about 90 calories, similar to a regular egg. Half an egg goes into a bowl of congee, about 45 calories.

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Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical cha chaan teng, dai pai dong or dim sum serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Centre for Food Safety Hong Kong, Nutrient Values of Indigenous Congee, Rice and Noodle Dishes (260 kcal per 470g). Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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