Chicken Congee

Congee is regarded as the ultimate Chinese comfort food, according to the author Fuchsia Dunlop. This recipe for ji zhou or chicken congee, from her book on Jiangnan regional cuisine, is dead simple and satisfying. Serve it with chicken and soy sauce for a late-night Shanghai-style snack.

Ingredients

  • ¾cup/150 grams sushi rice
  • 2 ½quarts/2.5 liters chicken stock
  • Salt
  • Soy sauce, for serving
  • Thinly sliced spring onions or scallions, green parts only, for serving
  • Finely chopped fresh ginger, for serving
  • Sesame oil, for serving
  • Nutritional Information
      • Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)

        499 calories; 9 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 78 grams carbohydrates; 12 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 24 milligrams cholesterol; 1919 milligrams sodium

    Note: The information shown is DiningAndCooking.com’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
    Powered by DiningAndCooking.com

Preparation

  1. Rinse and drain the rice.
  2. 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.
  3. Serve the congee with a sprinkling of soy sauce, spring onion and ginger and a few drops of sesame oil to taste.

Tip

  • The congee will continue to thicken as it cools and can be thinned with additional chicken stock if desired.

Dining and Cooking