Chao Ga Vietnamese Rice Porridge Recipes

CHAO GA - VIETNAMESE RICE PORRIDGE

Steps:

• Place rice and glutinous rice in a large pot with water and stock.
• Bring to boil then lower heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally.
• Cook until rice is very soft and mixture is thick. Roughly 45-60 minutes.
• Add fish sauce, sugar, shredded chicken, mushrooms, and poultry seasoning.
• Stir Gently.
• If desired, to Poach eggs: add to top of the mixture and cover.
• Let it simmer an additional 5-10 minutes, or the eggs are cooked to your liking.
• Spoon porridge into individual serving bowls.
• Garnish with spring onion.
• Sprinkle with pepper.

CHáO Gà (VIETNAMESE CHICKEN RICE PORRIDGE / CONGEE)

Steps:

• If you're using leftover or roasted chicken or turkey, remove about 75% of the meat and reserve this to add to your soup / cháo when serving.
• In a large stock pot, add the chicken or turkey, 85% of the filtered water, ginger, onion, salt and fish sauce over high heat. Once it hits a boil, reduce the heat so its at a low to medium simmer. The water should just about cover all the meat and bones. If your pot is very wide, keep in mind you may be using more water than listed, and you may need to add less in the final steps later when adjusting for consistency. Skim off any scum if necessary during the boil. Keep adding water to the pot as it evaporates so the bones remain covered.
• After about 90-120 minutes or when the meat has softened enough to easily be pulled off the bone, remove the poultry and let cool for about 10 minutes. Using your hands or a fork, remove the rest of the meat from the bones. Add the meat back into the pot. Discard the bones, onion, and ginger, since they've given their all to the broth at this point.
• Rice method A (saves time): While your broth is going, cook your rice in a rice cooker. Use equal scoops rice to water, it should finish cooking before your broth above is ready. Add the cooked rice to the pot and simmer on medium to soften the rice. About 10-20 min.
• Rice method B (less things to wash): Add all the raw rice to the pot and return to the heat on high until it hits a boil. Then lower the heat to a low-medium simmer until the rice is cooked and hits a soft consistency you like. It will take about 45-60 minutes depending on your stove. Here's the consistency after boiling, but before adjusting with more water.
• Once the rice is cooked to the doneness you like, which should be very soft way beyond al dente and beyond how you'd eat it outside of soup, adjust the water level. Fun fact, for my family soup thickness is a huge point of contention. Do what you want. Personally, I don't want the soup like a thick paste, but also don't want it so thin that you only see water when looking down at the pot. I want the soup to have a little substance and feel filling.
• Reseason the soup. Reseason with just salt, just fish sauce or equal parts of both to taste. The seasoning measured above is intentially less salt than we need so we can reseason here based on how thick you decided to make the soup.
• Remove from the heat, serve with garnish and accoutrement, and enjoy!

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN RICE PORRIDGE - CHAO GA

Steps:

• Wash and strain the jasmine rice in water until it runs clear (around 2 - 3 times). Drain.
• Add in the chicken, fish sauce, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and black pepper.
• Pour in the chicken stock.
• Give everything a quick stir to make sure the rice is mixed through with the seasonings.
• Pop your lid on your pressure cooker. Cook on high for 20 minutes, before allowing a natural steam release (around 10 minutes). Note: Carefully and slowly release any leftover steam; starchy dishes can cause the steam to splutter more than other pressure-cooked dishes.
• Give the congee a final stir, before serving and topping with your favourite garnishes. Add more water here for a thinner consistency.

CHAO GA (VIETNAMESE CHICKEN PORRIDGE)

Steps:

• Add the whole chicken, onion, ginger, salt and mushroom powder to a 6 to 8 quart pot. Fill the pot with water, enough to cover ingredients.
• Take the pot of water to a boil on high heat, then reduce the heat to a simmer on medium low heat.
• Use a ladle to skim any scum and foam off the top of the broth.
• Let the stock simmer uncovered for 40 minutes, or until chicken is done.
• Use tongs to remove chicken from the pot. Set aside.
• Wash the rice. Add rice to a mesh strainer and rinse it thoroughly with cold water until water runs clear. About 15 to 20 seconds.
• Heat a medium pan on medium heat. Add about 1 to 2 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the rice, stir frequently and roast until rice is dry, about 30 seconds.
• Add the rice to the pot of broth and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice expands and is fully cooked.
• Shred the chicken into bite size pieces (add it back into the pot if it needs to be reheated). Ladle the porridge into a bowl, add the chicken. Garnish with cilantro, green onions and season with ground pepper and squeeze of lime. Optional: add fish sauce and additional mushroom seasoning as needed to taste.

HMONG RICE PORRIDGE

Steps:

• Add the water or broth of your choice, rice and lemongrass into a pot and bring to a boil. Cook for about 7 minutes on high, stirring constantly to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer, continue to cook until the rice is soft.
• Put the ground meat into a bowl and add a little bit of warm water to break the meat apart, you don't want it sticking together but in small little clumps.
• Pour the meat into the porridge and stir. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for 10 more minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.
• Remove the lemongrass and serve warm.

VIETNAMESE CHICKEN AND LONG-GRAIN RICE CONGEE

Steps:

• Place chicken in a stock pot. Pour in enough water to cover chicken. Add ginger, lemon grass, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and gently simmer for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.
• Strain broth, and return broth to stock pot. Let chicken cool, then remove bones and skin, and tear into bite-size pieces; set aside.
• Stir rice into broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If necessary, adjust with water or additional salt. The congee is done, but can be left to cook an additional 45 minutes for better consistency.
• Ladle congee into bowls, and top with chicken, cilantro, chives, and pepper. Squeeze lime juice to taste.

SUPER-SIMPLE OVERNIGHT PORRIDGE

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine the rice, chicken stock, and water. Cover and let sit overnight at cool room temperature (around or below 60°F) or in the refrigerator.
• The next morning, add the ginger and the white parts of the green onions to the pot. Partially cover (a small gap is perfect to minimize evaporation and avoid a boil over) and bring to vigorous simmer over high heat. Lower the heat and gently simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed. When done, most of the liquid will have been absorbed (you'll see little separation between the rice and liquid). Discard the ginger and green onions. Stir the pot, cover tightly, turn off the heat, and let rest for 10 minutes to finish thickening. The desired thickness of the porridge can vary according to taste; it can be rustic and thick, or elegant and thin, or somewhere in between. If needed, add a splash of water to thin or cook a little longer to thicken. Taste and season with the salt.
• When ready to serve, reheat the porridge to a simmer, then ladle into individual bowls. Garnish with sliced green onions and pepper.
• Embellishments:
• Lean, light-tasting cháo responds well to fatty, salty, spicy, herbal enhancements. In addition to (or instead of) garnishing your porridge with green onion and pepper, consider the following, and feel free to mix and match.
• Toppings:
• Crisp chopped bacon, a fried or soft-boiled egg, and maybe chopped kimchi for punch.
• Lemongrass Tempeh Crumbles or Crispy Caramelized Pork Crumbles.
• Chopped Sriracha Tofu, fried onions or shallots, and coarsely chopped fresh cilantro, mint, or basil.
• Add-ins:
• Crack a raw egg into the bowl before ladling in the hot soup. Top with crumbled rice crackers and perhaps ribbons of Korean toasted seaweed snacks (one pack of gim is enough for a batch). Stir well before eating.
• Drop 8 ounces of raw peeled shrimp into the soup as it heats. When the shrimp are pink and cooked through, ladle out the soup. Add slivered ginger and maybe some gim.
• Stir in raw or seared mushroom. Add a handful of shredded cooked chicken or some shrimp, or both.