Identifying a type of topping used for congee
...pronounced something like "ma yip", the "ma" sounds like the "ma yao" in sesame oil and the "yip" sounds like leaf.


The word is「麻葉」(maa4 jip6), and is indeed a Chaoshan dish.

See 潮汕麻葉配番薯粥 for a Chinese description.



NOTE: If you want to Google「麻葉」, you should either (1) set your language to Chinese only, or add a character like「粥」(congee) after it.

Unfortunately,「麻葉」is also the name of a popular Sushi store in Japan.