Cháo lòng: Vietnamese Pork-Offal Rice Porridge

Rinse the two rices separately until the water is mostly clear. Cover with cool water and soak for 15 minutes, then drain thoroughly. On a board reserved for raw pork, trim the heart, liver and cleaned stomach. Keep them covered and chilled while the broth cooks. Wash your hands and clean and sanitize the board, knife and sink area after handling raw offal.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the pork bones and blanch for 5 minutes. Discard the blanching water, rinse the pot, then return the bones with 2.2 L fresh water and 20 g sliced ginger. Bring to a boil, skim, and simmer gently for 60 minutes. Strain the broth and measure 1.8 L; add hot water if needed.

While the broth simmers, bring a separate saucepan of fresh water and 10 g sliced ginger to a gentle boil. Add the stomach and simmer for 45–60 minutes, until tender. After the stomach has cooked for about 10–20 minutes, add the heart and simmer it for about 30–40 minutes total. Cook the liver in a separate pan of simmering water for about 10–15 minutes. These times vary with thickness: check the centre of each organ with a food thermometer and continue cooking until it reaches at least 71°C. Use separate utensils for raw and cooked organs.

Transfer the cooked organs to a clean plate and let them cool briefly, then slice thinly with a clean knife. Keep them hot for immediate service, or refrigerate promptly if assembling later.

Drain the soaked rice. In a dry heavy saucepan over medium heat, toast both rices for 4–5 minutes, stirring until fragrant but not browned. Add 15 ml oil, the chopped shallots and half of the minced ginger (10 g); sauté for 2 minutes. Add 1.8 L hot strained broth and bring to a gentle boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 45–50 minutes, stirring every few minutes and scraping the bottom, until the grains have opened and the porridge is creamy but still spoonable. Add hot water if it becomes thicker than you like. Stir in 20 ml fish sauce and up to 4 g salt. The rice must be fully tender.

Divide the hot porridge among four bowls. Arrange the sliced heart, liver and stomach on top. Garnish with scallions, cilantro, black pepper and lime wedges. Mix the remaining 20 ml fish sauce with the juice of half the lime, the reserved 10 g minced ginger and sliced chili for dipping; serve separately.

Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers at or below 4°C within 2 hours; use within 3 days and reheat the porridge and offal until the centre reaches 74°C. Discard any portion left at room temperature for more than 2 hours.