Chinese Rice Soup with Chicken (Congee) - Easy

I made this very easy soup today in honor of the Chinese New Year of the dragon 4770, which starts this year on January 23.  

Basic congee is simply rice and water, cooked for an hour or until it breaks up and thickens into an oatmeal-like consistency.  To give it more flavor, many recipes call for cooking the rice in broth and kicking up the flavor with a little soy sauce, sherry and poultry or meat.  Omit the dead animal and use veggie broth or more water for a vegan version.

Since the rice needs to cook for such a long time, I used canned chicken broth and leftover chicken to speed up the process a tad.  If you prefer all scratch ingredients, first add a couple extra hours to the prep time, then make a batch of chicken soup before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

This version is easy, but even with canned broth it's not fast, so plan enough time to serve before Letterman comes on.  It thickens up when cooled down -- if you make it the day before, add a half-cup water and/or broth when reheating or plan to eat with a knife and fork. 

For more kosher Chinese recipes, please visit last year's recap.


Chinese Chicken Congee (Rice Soup) - Easy
Serves 4

2 (14 oz.) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbl. dry sherry (optional)
2 tsp. soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded or thinly sliced
3 scallions, green parts thinly sliced or chopped (garnish)

Pour chicken broth and water into a 3 or 4-quart saucepan.  Add rice and ground ginger.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until rice breaks up and soup thickens.

Add soy sauce, sherry (if using) and chicken.  Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. Increase heat to medium for a few minutes to warm up chicken.

Ladle soup into bowls.  Garnish with scallions and serve hot.


Very good recipe tags:  kosher, soup, easy, chicken, rice, chinese

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