Chicken Porridge

Alex applied for his first library card today at our local library! He also learned to look up books via the online catalog, as well as how to find those books on the shelves. Surprisingly, he was really excited throughout the whole experience. :D How our little boy is growing up… Here’s another dish I made last week – porridge, otherwise known as congee for all of you dim sum lovers out there. It is one of my comfort foods, and it never fails to remind me of my family back home – my siblings and I probably cut our first tooth on porridge. Not only that, the plain version always seems to work wonders for me when I’m not feeling well, kinda like chicken soup. Of course, there are probably as many variation of porridge as there are Asian families. This is one that I make often – simple, yet delicious!

1 pound ground chicken
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup chopped green onions (optional)
1 cup jasmine rice*
5 cups water
1 (32-ounce) package Swanson chicken broth

* I used jasmine broken rice which results in a smoother texture porridge. Note that broken rice also cooks faster than the typical long-grain rice.

1. In a medium bowl, mix ground chicken, salt, and pepper. Add green onions (if using) and continue to mix until mixture is evenly combined. Set aside until needed.
2. Place rice in a large pot and rinse with cold water 3 to 4 times, draining the water each time. After rinsing, add 5 cups water and chicken broth to the rice in the pot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered for 10 minutes.
3. Uncover the pot and drop tablespoonful of chicken mixture into the porridge. Once all the chicken mixture is added, continue to cook the rice mixture, partially covered for another 20 to 30 minutes until rice breaks down completely and porridge has reached the desired consistency (you can always add more water if porridge gets too thick). Season with salt to taste. Serve hot or warm as is or with other varied porridge add-ins such as roasted peanuts, fried anchovies, sliced omelet, salted egg, chopped green onions, salted spicy radish, and many others.