Chicken Congee (鸡丝粥）

Posted by Vivian in Chicken, Chinese

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This is probably the third time I have ever made porridge for the family because asking the boys in the family to eat that is akin to making them swallow poison.

We had initially booked ourselves in for a Japanese buffet today since it was a public holiday.  Unfortunately, Matty had fallen sick and we decided to have something light for lunch instead.  Since I hardly stock too much ingredients at home, this was what I could come up with. Usually I will make soup and add in macaroni or mee sua when someone is not feeling well at home.  I figured that the objective is to get the patient to eat rather than to put him off and reject all food.  So no point forcing it.  

After today, it will probably be another 5 to 10 years before I make another pot of porridge.

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken drumsticks
• Chicken bones for added flavour (if available and desired)
• Few stalks of spring onion bulb
• 2 to 3 slices of ginger
• 3/4 cup of rice (best to soak overnight)
• Few stalks of spring onion (finely chopped)

Preparation:

• Bring about 2.5 litres to 3 litres of water to boil in a pot.
• Add in chicken drumsticks, chicken bones, spring onion bulbs and ginger.
• Allow the soup to boil for 10 minutes before lowering the heat and let the soup continue to boil for another 35 to 40 minutes.
• Season soup with salt before turning off the heat.
• Once the soup is done, remove the chicken and set aside.
• Discard bones, ginger and spring onion bulb .
• Strain the soup to remove excess oil.
• Add rice to soup and let it boil for 10 minutes before lowering the heat.  Allow it to boil for another 30 minutes.  Stir the mixture every now and then to prevent the congee from sticking to the bottom of the pot.  More water or chicken stock can be added if the congee appears too thick.
• In the meantime, shred the chicken and set aside.
• Season with more salt or light soy sauce if desired.
• Stir in the shredded chicken to the congee.  A small portion can be set aside and served by the side or topped on congee before serving.
• Sprinkle with spring onion and serve hot.
• Other ingredients like fried shallot, white pepper or sesame oil can be added on top of congee before serving.

Number of Servings: 4