Chicken Congee Recipe | A Healing Hearty Soup
This chicken congee recipe is my quicker take on the classic preparation. Chicken, rice, and broth simmer together until the rice grains nearly melt away, creating a thick, silky porridge that’s hearty and comforting. It’s basically a creamy chicken-and-rice soup and total comfort food.
Live alone and need one-person meals? This is perfect! It’s also budget-friendly. Prioritize protein? The bulk of the recipe is chicken and bone broth, making a super-high-protein soup you can prep in 5 minutes. It’s also gluten-free, high in protein, and wonderful for gut health.
When fall and winter roll around, this warm and comforting chicken congee is on repeat in our house. We all need an arsenal of leftover chicken recipes, and this should be included!
This is more than just a recipe to me. It’s one of the meals that helped me get through my cancer treatment. One of the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation is mouth sores and inflammation. Mine was even worse because my cancer was in my tonsil. I relied on soft foods that didn’t need much chewing but still provided the nourishment I needed. I can’t even tell you how many bowls of this chicken congee recipe I made, and I needed to share it with the internet!
At the beginning of my treatment, one of my Instagram followers sent me a recipe for congee, which is basically rice porridge. The chicken is optional. In Asian culture, congee is what pastina is to Italians. She said her mother had made this for her growing up, and it had also helped her through her own battle with cancer. I will be forever grateful to her for sharing this healing recipe.
Chicken Congee Recipe
Congee is special, and I always want to honor a dish’s authenticity, so I did a good amount of research before posting this. Authentic congee is typically made by cooking rice and water for hours until it reaches a thick porridge-like consistency. However, just like with pastina, there are many variations. Some people use water while others use chicken stock; veggies are optional, and some versions don’t include chicken. By no means is this an authentic recipe, but it’s what I came up with to help me through treatment, and I think it’s pretty close!!
Ingredients You’ll Need
The first three ingredients are all you really need for this chicken congee recipe. The others are optional but recommended for the best flavor.
- Cooked chicken. I use my broiled chicken thighs, but any cooked chicken will work.
- Bone broth. This adds protein and flavor. Regular broth is fine, but you’ll lose the extra protein.
- Short-grain starchy rice. This variety works best because it provides the extra starch you need for this recipe, but any short-grain rice will work. I’ve used aborio rice many times with equal success.
- Fresh garlic and ginger. Both have anti-inflammatory benefits and add delicious flavor.
- Egg. A tempered egg adds creaminess to the soup while providing a little extra protein.
- Miso paste. Miso adds depth of flavor and saltiness and has excellent gut-healing properties.
- Low-sodium soy sauce. Sweet, salty, bitter, savory – it makes everything better!
- Sesame oil. Toasty and nutty, a little sesame oil goes a long way.
Recommended For This Recipe
A savory unsalted bone broth made from slow-simmering organic chicken bones with vegetables and aromatics. Full of naturally occurring collagen, with 9 grams of protein per serving.
How To Make Chicken Congee
My recipe for chicken congee takes about an hour, so it’s not quick, but it is easy. The prep itself takes five minutes. 95% of that time is cooking!
- Add chicken, broth, rice, garlic, and ginger to the pot.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook for an hour or until thick, stirring frequently.
- About 15 minutes before the soup is done, temper the egg. Instructions below.
- Add the tempered egg to the soup and remove the pan from the heat.
- Stir in the miso, sesame oil, and low-sodium tamari.
As written, this recipe serves one. If you change the number of servings on the recipe card below, the ingredient amounts are automatically adjusted as you move the slider. Do this before printing the recipe, and the adjusted measurements will be there.
How To Temper An Egg & Why You Should
You will wind up with egg drop soup if you add the egg to the hot broth too quickly and without constantly stirring, which is why we temper it.Â
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk well.
- Use a measuring cup to dip 1/3 cup of the hot broth from the pot.
- Slowly drizzle the hot broth into the beaten egg, whisking constantly.
This is tempering. You are warming up the egg so it doesn’t curdle when you add it to the soup. If there’s not enough broth left in the pot to temper the egg, add more and bring it back to a simmer before removing what you need.
Tips & Variations
- I usually make a double batch of my roasted chicken thighs and freeze the meat into one-cup portions in my favorite meal prep freezer containers. For this recipe, you can take the meat directly from the freezer and add it to the pot, so there’s no thawing required.
- You can keep it simple or load it up with veggies for added nutrition and texture. Some of my favorites are cabbage, scallions, and/or edamame.
- Adding an egg to my chicken congee recipe provides creaminess and helps to thicken the soup. You can leave the egg out entirely and add a few tablespoons of heavy cream.
- This will last up to 4 days in your refrigerator, but it is a single-serving meal meant to be enjoyed immediately. If you double- or triple the recipe and refrigerate it, it will thicken as it cools, and you will likely need to add more bone broth to loosen it when you reheat it.
If you’ve tried my chicken congee recipe or any recipe on my site, please leave a comment below!
Chicken Congee Recipe | A Healing Hearty Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked, diced chicken
- 2-3 cups unsalted chicken bone broth
- 2 tbsp short-grain rice
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1-2 tsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari
Instructions
- Add the chicken, rice, garlic, ginger, and 2 cups of broth to a small pot.
- Bring to a boil, and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Gently simmer for one hour, stirring frequently.
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and gently beat it.
- 5 minutes before the soup is done, remove 1/3 cup of the hot broth from the pot and slowly drizzle it into the bowl with the egg, Constantly whisking. See notes in post.
- Add the tempered egg back to the pot, stirring constantly.
- Stir in miso, sesame oil, and low-sodium tamari to taste.
Can this be frozen and reheated?