Best 3 Vietnamese Chicken And Long Grain Rice Congee Recipes

CHáO Gà (VIETNAMESE CHICKEN RICE PORRIDGE / CONGEE)

Steps:

• If you're using leftover or roasted chicken or turkey, remove about 75% of the meat and reserve this to add to your soup / cháo when serving.
• In a large stock pot, add the chicken or turkey, 85% of the filtered water, ginger, onion, salt and fish sauce over high heat. Once it hits a boil, reduce the heat so its at a low to medium simmer. The water should just about cover all the meat and bones. If your pot is very wide, keep in mind you may be using more water than listed, and you may need to add less in the final steps later when adjusting for consistency. Skim off any scum if necessary during the boil. Keep adding water to the pot as it evaporates so the bones remain covered.
• After about 90-120 minutes or when the meat has softened enough to easily be pulled off the bone, remove the poultry and let cool for about 10 minutes. Using your hands or a fork, remove the rest of the meat from the bones. Add the meat back into the pot. Discard the bones, onion, and ginger, since they've given their all to the broth at this point.
• Rice method A (saves time): While your broth is going, cook your rice in a rice cooker. Use equal scoops rice to water, it should finish cooking before your broth above is ready. Add the cooked rice to the pot and simmer on medium to soften the rice. About 10-20 min.
• Rice method B (less things to wash): Add all the raw rice to the pot and return to the heat on high until it hits a boil. Then lower the heat to a low-medium simmer until the rice is cooked and hits a soft consistency you like. It will take about 45-60 minutes depending on your stove. Here's the consistency after boiling, but before adjusting with more water.
• Once the rice is cooked to the doneness you like, which should be very soft way beyond al dente and beyond how you'd eat it outside of soup, adjust the water level. Fun fact, for my family soup thickness is a huge point of contention. Do what you want. Personally, I don't want the soup like a thick paste, but also don't want it so thin that you only see water when looking down at the pot. I want the soup to have a little substance and feel filling.
• Reseason the soup. Reseason with just salt, just fish sauce or equal parts of both to taste. The seasoning measured above is intentially less salt than we need so we can reseason here based on how thick you decided to make the soup.
• Remove from the heat, serve with garnish and accoutrement, and enjoy!

SUPER-SIMPLE OVERNIGHT PORRIDGE

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the rice, chicken stock, and water. Cover and let sit overnight at cool room temperature (around or below 60°F) or in the refrigerator.
• The next morning, add the ginger and the white parts of the green onions to the pot. Partially cover (a small gap is perfect to minimize evaporation and avoid a boil over) and bring to vigorous simmer over high heat. Lower the heat and gently simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed. When done, most of the liquid will have been absorbed (you'll see little separation between the rice and liquid). Discard the ginger and green onions. Stir the pot, cover tightly, turn off the heat, and let rest for 10 minutes to finish thickening. The desired thickness of the porridge can vary according to taste; it can be rustic and thick, or elegant and thin, or somewhere in between. If needed, add a splash of water to thin or cook a little longer to thicken. Taste and season with the salt.
• When ready to serve, reheat the porridge to a simmer, then ladle into individual bowls. Garnish with sliced green onions and pepper.
• Embellishments:
• Lean, light-tasting cháo responds well to fatty, salty, spicy, herbal enhancements. In addition to (or instead of) garnishing your porridge with green onion and pepper, consider the following, and feel free to mix and match.
• Toppings:
• Crisp chopped bacon, a fried or soft-boiled egg, and maybe chopped kimchi for punch.
• Lemongrass Tempeh Crumbles or Crispy Caramelized Pork Crumbles.
• Chopped Sriracha Tofu, fried onions or shallots, and coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, mint, or basil.
• Add-ins:
• Crack a raw egg into the bowl before ladling in the hot soup. Top with crumbled rice crackers and perhaps ribbons of Korean toasted seaweed snacks (one pack of gim is enough for a batch). Stir well before eating.
• Drop 8 ounces of raw peeled shrimp into the soup as it heats. When the shrimp are pink and cooked through, ladle out the soup. Add slivered ginger and maybe some gim.
• Stir in raw or seared mushroom. Add a handful of shredded cooked chicken or some shrimp, or both.

CHICKEN CONGEE

Steps:

• Rinse and drain the rice.
• Put the rice in a pot with the chicken stock and bring to boil. Give the rice a good stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent sticking, then lower the heat and half-cover the pan. Simmer gently for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes, until the grains have burst open and you have a thick congee. Keep an eye on the pot to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. Toward the end of cooking, when the stock has become integrated with the rice and is the consistency of oatmeal, season lightly with salt to taste.
• Serve the congee with a sprinkling of soy sauce, spring onion and ginger and a few drops of sesame oil to taste.