Congee

With chicken, ginger & poached egg

ACROSS SOUTHEAST ASIA

There is nothing more comforting to me than a bowl of congee. It’s what I want to eat after I come back from a holiday; when I’m feeling sniffly and miserable; and just generally, whenever I need something light and soothing. There is a version of this in most Asian countries that have rice as a staple – the Cantonese call this jook, the Malays call it bubur, the Vietnamese call it cháo, etc. Essentially, it is simply rice, cooked in stock or water until the grains have all disintegrated into a porridge. The rice that’s cooked in stock is plump with flavour from the broth, while the plain one is usually accompanied by pickles and other salty toppings. I like them all, and eat them any way, with every variation I can think of. The chicken congee on the following page is a classic, made by simmering rice with chicken bones, then serving it with thin slices of ginger, fried shallots, spring onions, and an egg slipped straight into the hot congee until just barely cooked. It does take a while to make, but there is hardly any effort involved and I love having a pot bubbling away quietly in the background. If you don’t want to wait, you can also ‘cheat’ by using leftover rice and chicken stock; this will halve the preparation time.

Serves 2

• 3 thumb-size pieces of ginger
• 2 spring onions
• ½ cup of uncooked jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
• 5 cups of water *
• 300g chicken thighs, on the bone
• sea salt, to taste
• 2 eggs

To serve

• fried shallots (see here)
• fried shallot oil (see here), or sesame oil
• light soy sauce
• white pepper

1. Smash 2 pieces of ginger with the back of your knife, and julienne the other piece into thin slices, reserving them for the garnish. Separate the white and green parts of the spring onions. Finely chop the green parts and reserve for garnish later. Leave the white parts whole.
2. Combine the rice, water, chicken thighs, smashed ginger and white spring onions in a pot. Bring to the boil, skimming off any scum from the surface.
3. Lower the heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom and burning. Remove the chicken thighs after 30 minutes of cooking. Tear off the meat, reserving the shredded chicken for later, and return the bones to the pot.
4. Continue to cook until the rice grains are plump and have disintegrated. It will take quite a long time, about 1–1½ hours more, though unlike a risotto you don’t have to constantly stir, so it’s not that bad. Start paying more attention and stirring more frequently during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
5. If it gets too thick, thin it out with some water. The congee will continue to thicken as it stands. Season to taste with salt.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and fish out the bones, ginger and white spring onions. Crack the eggs into the pot, and let the residual heat from the congee cook them until the whites are just barely set.
7. To serve, scoop the congee into bowls, making sure each bowl has an egg, and top with the shredded chicken, ginger, green spring onions and fried shallots. Finish with a drizzle of shallot oil or sesame oil. The soy sauce and pepper are usually served in little bottles/shakers on the side, for the eater to add to taste.

Variations:
Leftover turkey: This is a great one to make after Christmas. The roasted bones and meat give a quite different flavour that makes this congee special. Simmer the rice in water with the turkey bones, and serve with leftover roast turkey and the usual garnishes.

Preserved radish omelette and cabbage: This is a twist on one of my favourite styles of congee in Singapore, Teochew porridge – plain congee, served with lots of salty side dishes. Simmer the rice with water, and while the porridge is cooking, fry up the omelette (see here) and snip it into strips. Add sliced cabbage to the congee for the last 5 minutes of cooking. There is a delicious balance of flavours from the salty radish, fragrant egg and sweet cabbage, which the bland congee takes on perfectly.

Hot smoked salmon, ginger and chives: You can use smoked mackerel too. The smokiness of the fish adds an extra depth of flavour to the congee. Make a plain congee with water, and season with fish sauce. Once off the heat, gently flake the smoked salmon over and serve with ginger and chives.