Vietnamese Chicken and Long-Grain Rice Congee

Description

Congee is a much overlooked soup and a comfort food of a lot of Asian peoples. This recipe is flavorful, light, and goes down real easy when you are feeling a little out of the weather. It looks harder than it actually is. I usually just throw things together, go away, and wander into the kitchen later to see if it’s done.

Ingredients

  • ⅛ cup uncooked jasmine rice
  • 1 (2.5 pound) whole chicken
  • 3 (2 inch) pieces fresh ginger root
  • 1 stalk lemon grass, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • ⅛ cup chopped fresh chives
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges

Instructions

  1. Place chicken in a stock pot. Pour in enough water to cover chicken. Add ginger
  2. lemon grass
  3. and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat
  4. cover
  5. and gently simmer for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.
  6. Strain broth
  7. and return broth to stock pot. Let chicken cool
  8. then remove bones and skin
  9. and tear into bite-size pieces; set aside.
  10. Stir rice into broth
  11. and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium
  12. and cook for 30 minutes
  13. stirring occasionally. If necessary
  14. adjust with water or additional salt. The congee is done
  15. but can be left to cook an additional 45 minutes for better consistency.
  16. Ladle congee into bowls
  17. and top with chicken
  18. cilantro
  19. chives
  20. and pepper. Squeeze lime juice to taste.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins

Servings: 4

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