🍽️ Vegetable Tea Porridge

Porridge with greens, meat and vermicelli, a Shanwei dish.

Vegetable Tea Porridge is a distinctive home-style staple of the Hailufeng region in Shanwei, Guangdong; it is really a hearty savory congee or soupy rice bowl. The base is soft rice porridge, mixed with a dozen stir-fried toppings such as peanuts, dried shrimp, shredded squid, tofu skin, celery, spinach, diced carrot and shredded pork, finished with toasted white sesame and sesame oil. Colorful and generously loaded, it combines the warmth of congee with the freshness of seafood and greens, satisfying yet not heavy. In Shanwei it is often served at festivals and to guests; every household makes it slightly differently and neighbors share bowls, making it one of the most heartfelt dishes of local food culture.