Recipe: Chicken & Rice Porridge/Congee (As seen in Disney’s Mulan)
Final Chicken & Rice Porridge, served with Bacon and Green Onions
So, I have to shout out my boyfriend for this because although this is a common meal for us (adapted from Vietnamese Chao Ga), he suggested a date where we made it together and watched a popular Disney movie where it was served, Mulan! We also did the same to a “The Grey Stuff” from Beauty and the Beast, “Hazelnut Soup” from Tangled, and “Cheese Souffle” from Beauty and the Beast. I would definitely recommend doing this as a low-key date!
Disclaimer: Mulan’s porridge has eggs instead of green onions, but I didn’t feel like eating that. Adjust proportions and toppings as you see fit!
Ready In: 3 Hours | Serves: 6
Price: ~ $10
Ingredients:
Rice Porridge Ingredients
* 1 Whole Chicken or Equivalent Meat Pieces (ex. 8 thighs)
* 1 Onion
* 1 Cup White Rice
* 1 Tbsp Salt (Heaping)
* 40 oz Chicken Stock
* Ground Ginger to Taste (I usually use about 2 tablespoons)
* Fish Sauce to Taste (I usually use about 2 tablespoons)
* Salt and Pepper to Taste
* Garnish Options: French Onions, Green Onions, Mint, Cilantro, Bacon, Soy Sauce, Chili Paste, etc. (Whatever you want really!)
Directions
1) Start Soaking Rice in water. We want it to soak for at least an hour in total.
2) In a large stock pot (mine is 6 quarts), add an onion (cut into 8 and separated - see picture for details), salt, and your chicken. Traditionalists will use a whole chicken, but I like the convenience and affordability of using pieces. Fill the pot with water up to the point where all the chicken is covered completely. Boil until chicken is cooked (about 45 minutes), use a meat thermometer (checking for 165 F) to help ensure safe consumption!
Soak Rice in Water for about an hour.
Boil Chicken, Onion, and Salt until cooked.
3) Once chicken is finished, remove the chicken and set aside. This chicken can now be used as meat topping for the porridge, or really anything else you could need chicken for! You can leave these pieces whole, shred them, season them, whatever you like. The chicken, from here, isn’t essential for to the soup base anymore.
After the chicken is cooked, remove and add additional chicken broth, ginger, fish sauce, and the soaked rice.
4) In the pot, add the additional chicken stock, soaked rice (drained), ground ginger, and fish sauce. I would start with about two tablespoons of both ginger and fish sauce. (You can add more later to suit your preferences.) Bring the soup back up to boiling and boil for 10 minutes.
5) After the 10 minute boil, remove the stockpot from heat, cover and let sit for an hour. This time is necessary to change the soup from a broth with rice into a porridge.
6) After the hour is finished, bring the soup back up to boiling. Boil for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. This is going to finish breaking up those rice granules and form a smooth consistency. (This step can be finicky, keep stirring and watch the mixture closely, as time passes you’ll get a smoother and smoother consistency - but it’ll get to a point where it’ll start going from smooth to watery - this is the immediate stopping point.)
The key step is to let the soup rest for an hour, allowing time for the rice granules to absorb the broth.
Once the soaking is done, return to boil for 10 minutes. This will break the rice granules open.
While heating, stir until an even consistency is achieved.
7) Your porridge is ready to eat! Add more seasonings/toppings as desired!
Yum Yum Yum - The Porridge is happy to see me!
Watching Mulan!