Asian Style Chicken Porridge with Shredded Lettuce

Porridge or congee or sometimes called jook can be considered as comfort food for Asian people. Not only it is traditional Chinese breakfast item but also it is one of the staple foods in many Asian countries. Porridge is basically rice that you cook for a long time with lots and lots of liquid. Depending how you like your porridge, but I find that my perfect rice and liquid ratio is 1 to 12 – 1 cup of rice to 12 cups of liquid.

To my family, this particular Asian style chicken porridge is my kids’ ultimate comfort food. Out of the blue, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, they will ask me for this chicken porridge. The kids like the chicken porridge with less lettuce and more fried shallot better. Both my husband and I like the chicken porridge with more lettuce because of the additional crunch that lettuce has. We mix it all up first before our first bite (see picture below). So, it is a bit different way of eating compared to this century egg porridge recipe.

Tip: I found that to make best porridge or congee depends on rice to liquid ratio. To me, the best ratio is 1:12. Also, you need to simmer it long enough until each grain of rice burst open.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast – cut into bite-sized
• 1 cup white rice – rinsed and drained
• 2 liters (or 10 cups) chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 lettuce head – shredded or thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper to season
• Fried shallot (to garnish)

Directions:

• In a large pot, add rice, chicken, chicken stocks and water. Turn on the heat to simmer (low heat).
• Simmer for about 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Once the time is up, add salt and pepper little by little. The rice should already be quite flavorful from the chicken and chicken stock, so you don’t need a lot of seasoning.
• Serve a bowl of porridge and top with shredded lettuce and fried shallot. Mix everything up first before getting your first bite. Enjoy!