Chick Chick Congee| Recipe

A modernized chicken congee, also known as rice porridge, recipe

Chicken congee is one of my favorite childhood comfort dish. It is filling and keeps the belly warm in the cold winter season.

Traditionally, this dish can take hours to make. I remembered my grandma would prepped this dish two days in advance. She started off with making the chicken stock from a whole chicken and simmer the broth for days. However, in the modern days, we don’t have time for that or at least I know I don’t. Here is my shortcut version that only takes 30 minutes to make. It tastes just as good with some modern twists. This is also a good recipe to use up leftover cooked rice.

Here is the link to the printable recipe

What do I need? (~ 2 serving)

• 1 cup of cold cooked white rice (I used short-grain as it is more starchy)
• 4 cups of water
• 1 cup of shredded rotisserie chicken meat (I used Costco)
• 2 eggs
• ~1 thumb size Ginger
• 1 tsp of pepper + extra for topping
• 2 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of sugar

Toppings

• 4 Chinese donuts, also known as Youtiao or cháo quẩy (optional)
• Chili oil (optional)
• Fried shallots (optional)
• 2 Green onions
• 1 lime

How to?

Into a medium size pot, add in cooked rice and water. Bring it to a boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in between every 5 minutes or so to prevent rice from burning to the bottom of the pot.

While simmering the rice broth, make soft-boiled eggs. Bring another pot of water to a boil. Make sure that there is enough water to cover the eggs completely. Once the water boiled, drop in the eggs slowly. Cover the pot and cook for 6 ½ minutes.

After 6 ½ minutes, remove the eggs and soak them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Let it sit in the water bath until they cool down. Peel of the shells carefully and set it aside.

Prep the toppings and ginger. Peel the ginger with the back of a spoon. Thinly slice it into strips and mince it into tiny pieces. Thinly slice the green onions. Cut the lime into wedges.

After 30 minutes, stir the rice. Try to break up the rice with the back of the ladle. At this point, the rice should break up, and the broth is a little starchy. For smoother congee version check the Tips and Tricks version.

Add in the chicken and half of the minced gingers. Save the other half of the gingers for later.

Season with salts, sugars, and peppers. Taste and feel free to increase the seasoning if needed.

Ladle some congee into a serving bowl. Top off with some gingers, green onions, black peppers, chili oil, and fried shallots. Cut the soft-boiled eggs into half and add to the congee.

Enjoy!

Serve chicken congee with lime wedges and a side of Chinese donuts. Feel free to cut the Chinese donuts into bite size pieces. To eat, squeeze in a bite of lime juice. Mix up all the topping. Dip in the Chinese donuts or add them in and let them absorb the delicious congee broth. Each bite will warm up your belly. Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks (Advices :P)

What is Chinese donut and where to get some?

Chinese donuts are deep fried dough made from all-purpose flour, baking powder, etc…These donuts are also known as Youtiao in Chinese or cháo quẩy in Vietnamese. The donuts taste bready with a nice buttery crunchy texture, similar to an American donut without the sweet glaze, but crispier and hollow inside. They are often eaten with noodle, soups, congee, soymilk, and even rice noodles. Here is a great recipe on how to make one.

These donuts are often sold at Chinese Dim Sum place. They are also sold in the frozen section of the Asian grocery stores. For frozen or not as crispy ones, just heat them in the oven for 10–15 minutes at 400°F or until crispy.

How to make a smoother chicken congee?

In my opinion, a perfect congee is starchy and smooth, meaning all the grains of cooked rice are fully broken down to the point that they melt in your mouth. This is similar to how cream of soups are smooth and creamy. However, that would take super long to make. To achieve this smooth and creamy texture, simmer the congee (the first step) for 1 hours while stirring constantly to prevent the rice from burning at the bottom of the pot. Add more water if needed.

Substitution for rotisserie chicken

I found that the shredded rotisserie chicken add an extra umami chicken flavor to the congee. However, feel free to use any leftover cooked chicken or even ground chicken/turkey. Just use chicken stock instead of water to add that extra chicken flavor to the congee.

Education Time

References: 1 and 2

First, let learn what is the correct way to call this dish. Is it congee or porridge? Porridge refer to a starchy dish made of any type of grains and or vegetables that have been softened. Congee is basically a porridge made of rice. Therefore, either word, congee or porridge works. In Southern China, congee is known as “jook”.

Congee can date back to 1000 BCE in China. According to the Book of Zhou, the first person to cook congee was Emperor Huangdi who made congee using millet. However, according to Ammini Ramachandran (author of the article Congee: Asia’s Bowl Full of Comfort), congee was created by a man who wanted to dilute the rice with water to stretched the amount rice to serve to his guests. He instructed the cook to add more water to the rice pot every time he heard his name. The misery man forgot about this instruction and called out the cook’s name many times while he was waiting for his guests. The cook kept on adding water to the rice pot, so by the time the man’s guests arrived, the rice turned into porridge.

There are many international versions of congee. This dish is popular in the Asian countries as it is known to be a healing dish for the sick. In India, congee is known as kanji, and it is often eaten with green lentils and chutney top with nuts and spices. In Japan, congee is known as kayu or okayu and is made more watery and seasoned with salt. In Korea, congee is known as juk and is made using a mixture of rice, beans, sesame, and nuts. In Vietnam, congee is known as cháo and is eaten with pickled vegetables or fermented tofu (chao).

Fun Facts 😮

• Congee can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
• There are sweet, savory, and bland congee.
• Traditionally, congee was served bland and is eaten with preserved eggs.
• Congee was used a a therapeutic treatment in China as early as 221–207 BCE. Ginger Congee was believed to help with nausea, upset stomach, indigestion, and diarrhea. Asparagus congee can helps reduce cholesterol. Pear congee can helps reduce fever. Black sesame congee can improve lactation in nursing mothers.
• Congee is also prepared and served during Chinese religious ceremonies and festivals.