Vietnamese Chicken Porridge (Cháo Gà Recipe)

Are you looking for a delicious dish to heal both your body and soul, rich in nutrients to boost the health of someone recovering from illness, or simply to warm your stomach on chilly rainy days? Chicken congee is definitely an excellent choice. A steaming hot bowl of chicken congee, with the rich sweetness of shredded chicken and soft rice grains that melt in your mouth, will help you feel healthier and full of energy.

In today’s article, Foodvietnamese will guide you on how to cook Vietnamese-style chicken congee, which is incredibly simple, quick to soften, and deliciously authentic. Let’s get started in the kitchen right away!

Ingredients for Cooking Chicken Congee

• Chicken: 1 whole (about 1.5 – 2kg)
• White rice: 300g
• Straw mushrooms: 300g
• Onion: 1 bulb (300g)
• Green onions: 4 stalks
• Cilantro: a small amount
• Vietnamese coriander: 1 bunch (50g)
• Lemon or lime: 1 piece
• Garlic: 4 cloves
• Spicy chili peppers: 4 pieces
• Sweet chili or horn chili: 1 piece
• Ginger: 5g
• Shallots: 120g

Seasonings:

• Fish sauce: 30g
• Salt: 23g (about 1.5 tablespoons)
• Seasoning powder: 12g (about 1 tablespoon)
• Rock sugar: 20g
• Granulated sugar: 10g
• MSG: 10g
• Ground pepper (depending on taste)

Irresistibly Delicious Vietnamese-Style Chicken Congee Recipe

Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients

1. Chicken Preparation:
   • After plucking the chicken clean, rub it thoroughly inside and out with salt and lemon. Rinse multiple times to ensure it’s completely clean.
   • Trim the nails, remove all fine hairs, and cut off the oil gland at the tail to prevent any unpleasant odor during cooking.
2. Other Ingredients Preparation:
   • Peel the shallots, wash them, finely chop a small amount, and slice the rest thinly.
   • Mince the garlic and spicy chili peppers.
   • Thinly slice the sweet chili or horn chili.
   • Cut the onion lengthwise into pieces about 5-6mm thick, then soak in ice water to maintain its crispness and reduce its pungency.
   • Cut the green onions into sections, chop the green parts finely for adding to the congee.
   • Roughly chop the Vietnamese coriander, not too finely.
   • Squeeze the lemon to extract the juice.
   • Trim the stems of the straw mushrooms, score a cross on the tops, and if they are large, cut them in half. Soak in diluted salt water to remove impurities.
   • Measure and wash the rice, then drain.

Step 2: Boil the Chicken

1. Fill a pot with approximately 4 liters of water and heat it to about 50°C before adding the whole chicken. This tip helps prevent the chicken from becoming fishy and keeps the skin from cracking. Place the breast and thighs facing down to ensure even cooking.
2. Cut 3 shallots in half and add them to the pot along with 3 small slices of ginger to enhance the aroma of the chicken.
3. Season the boiling water with 1 tablespoon of salt (about 15g) and 20g of white sugar or rock sugar. Boil the chicken over medium heat. When the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to low, skim off any foam to keep the broth clear, and continue boiling for an additional 15-20 minutes from the time the water starts boiling.
4. Use a chopstick to pierce the chicken. If no pinkish liquid comes out, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let the chicken sit in the pot for another 15 minutes to ensure the bones are fully cooked and no longer red inside.

Step 3: Toast the Rice

1. Add a little chicken fat to a hot pan and stir until the fat is rendered.
2. Add the sliced shallots and sauté until fragrant.
3. Add the rice and stir over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes. When the rice grains become firm and turn a pale yellow color, turn off the heat.

Step 4: Cook the Chicken Congee

1. After boiling for about 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the pot and immediately place it in a basin of cold water. Then discard the shallots and ginger from the pot. Add more water to the pot to make up 4 liters.
2. Add the toasted rice to the chicken broth and simmer over medium heat.

At this stage, you can also place all the ingredients in a pot on the stove or use a multifunction electric pressure cooker and cook for about 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, release the pressure, then let it sit for another 10 minutes before opening the lid and removing the chicken. Using a pressure cooker is quicker and saves you the time of monitoring the stove.

Step 5: Sauté the Mushrooms

1. Heat a little oil in a pan, then add the minced shallots and sauté until fragrant. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry briefly.
2. Season the mushrooms with 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder and 3 tablespoons of water to dissolve the spices and allow them to soak into the mushrooms.

Step 6: Make Sweet and Sour Onion Salad to Serve with Chicken Congee

1. Prepare the salad dressing by mixing 60g sugar and 30g fish sauce, heating over very low heat until the sugar dissolves (no need to boil), then turn off the heat.
2. Once slightly cooled, add 30g lemon juice, minced garlic, and chili, stirring well.
3. Remove the chicken, let it drain, then shred it into bite-sized pieces. Reserve the drumsticks to decorate the salad plate for an appealing presentation. Separate the chicken bones and return them to the pot to continue simmering for a flavorful broth.
4. Place the onion in a large basin, add 2.5 tablespoons of the prepared salad dressing, toss well, and let it marinate for about 5 minutes. You can also buy pre-made salad dressing from the supermarket, which is equally delicious.
5. Next, add the shredded chicken to the onion, along with 3 tablespoons of the salad dressing, and mix well. Finally, add the sliced chili and Vietnamese coriander, tossing everything together. The remaining salad dressing can be used as a dipping sauce for the chicken.

Step 7: Enjoy the Hot Chicken Congee

1. After 30 minutes from boiling, when the rice grains have fully expanded, remove the chicken bones and set them aside. Add the sautéed mushrooms to the congee and season with seasoning powder, salt, and MSG to taste. Finally, add the green onion heads and a sprinkle of pepper for aroma, then turn off the heat.
2. To serve, ladle the hot congee into bowls, garnish with chopped green onions, and add a little pepper and chili for decoration.

Now, your chicken congee is ready to be enjoyed while hot. The congee has a balanced flavor, with a rich sweetness, and the rice grains are fully expanded but not too mushy. The mushrooms are crisp and sweet; the chicken salad with crunchy onions is tangy, sweet, and slightly spicy, with the fragrant touch of Vietnamese coriander, making the dish endlessly enjoyable.

Notes When Cooking Chicken Congee

Depending on the region and personal preferences, each family may have a different way of cooking chicken congee. With the recipe shared by Foodvietnamese, you should keep in mind the following points to make the dish more flavorful and appealing:

1. Choose Fresh Chicken: For cooking congee, it is best to buy free-range chicken with thin skin and naturally pinkish-red meat. Ideally, buy healthy, live chickens with smooth feathers and agile movement, which you can then pluck and prepare yourself. Alternatively, you can have the vendor clean and pluck the chicken, and you can simply wash and deodorize it at home.
2. Clean the Chicken Thoroughly: There are various ways to clean the chicken, such as rubbing it with salt and lemon, using ginger, salt, and white wine, or blanching the chicken with ginger and shallots. Choose the method that best suits the ingredients you have available in your kitchen.
3. Rice for Congee: Choose glutinous, fragrant rice with large, plump grains. Toast the rice before cooking to help it expand quickly and avoid becoming too mushy.
4. Straw Mushrooms: Select fresh mushrooms and soak them in saltwater for about 7-10 minutes to remove impurities, then rinse with clean water.

Finally, fragrant, creamy, and easy-to-swallow chicken congee is perfect for breakfast, a light meal, or family gatherings during holidays and weekends. Cooking chicken congee is very simple, and hopefully, the recipe shared by Foodvietnamese can help you create a delicious and nutritious dish for your family.

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