Chicken Congee Recipe is a big bowl of comfort food goodness. It’s high in protein, gut-healing, and absolutely delicious!
One of the side effects of my cancer treatment was the inability to eat. My cancer was in my tonsil, so they had to hit that sucker directly with the radiation beam. The results were open sores and inflammation. Most things felt like battery acid in my mouth, but not this Chicken Congee Recipe. Not only was it my saving grace, but it was comforting and delicious, and I needed to share it!
At the beginning of my treatment, one of my Instagram followers sent me a recipe for congee. 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 because this recipe is healing, comforting, and delicious. It helped me get through treatment, and I still make it because it always hits the spot, especially when you want a big bowl of comfort food!
Authentic congee is typically made by cooking rice and water for hours until it reaches a thick porridge-like consistency. Congee is special, and I always want to honor the authenticity of a dish, so I did a good amount of research before posting this. I learned that, 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 have any chicken. It’s just a porridge of rice and water. I’ve tweaked this recipe several times and still change it up, but this is the version I make the most!
Chicken Congee Recipe
I add ginger, garlic, and miso for flavor and health benefits, as well as bone broth for added protein. I’ve had upper and lower G.I. problems my entire life, and this is incredibly soothing to my digestive tract. So whether you’re feeling a little off or want a delicious bowl of soup, the recipe is for you!
Why We Love It
- Delicious. There’s a lot to love about this soup, but mostly, it’s just so darn good!
- Healing. It’s good for the entire digestive tract and contains gut-healing collagen.
- Healthy. Don’t let the simple ingredients fool you. This is packed with vitamins, minerals, and hydration.
- High in protein. One bowl delivers a whopping 54 grams from the bone broth and chicken!
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 rice. Short-grain is best because you want the starch in this recipe. Any kind works.
- Fresh garlic and ginger. Both have anti-inflammatory benefits and add delicious flavor.
- Egg. A tempered egg gives the soup creaminess while adding 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. I suggest starting with less and adding more. to taste.
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How To Make Chicken Congee Recipe
My recipe for chicken congee takes about an hour, so it’s not quick but 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 is meant to be one serving. If you change the number of servings on the recipe card, all ingredient amounts are adjusted for you. Choose the number of servings you want using the slider that pops up when you hover over “1” serving. Do this before printing the recipe, and the adjusted measurements will be there.
How To Temper An Egg
- 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.
Notes
- You will have egg drop soup if you add the egg to the hot broth too quickly and without stirring constantly.
- If there’s not enough broth to get 1/3 cup, add more to the pot and bring it back to a simmer before removing what you need.
Helpful Tips
- Once you add the egg to the soup, you don’t need to continue cooking it. Since we tempered the egg with the hot broth, that mixture started the cooking process on the egg. Once you add it to the soup, it’s fully cooked. If you continue simmering the broth once you’ve added the egg, you risk it curdling.
- I make a double batch of my chicken thighs or buy a couple of rotisserie chickens and freeze the meat into one-cup portions. In this recipe, you can take the meat directly from the freezer and put it into the pot, so there’s no thawing necessary.
- To make the process quicker, you can have everything ready in your freezer. Freeze cooked chicken, garlic, and ginger into meal-size portions so they’re ready to go when you are. I LOVE these containers for my freezer food prep, and they have all different sizes!
Variations
- My chicken congee recipe uses an egg because I love the creaminess it gives the soup. If you don’t want to add the egg but still want a creamy consistency, leave it out entirely and add a few tablespoons of heavy cream.
- Any broth would work. I use unsalted broth because miso paste can be pretty salty. I also use bone broth for the added protein. If all you have is regular chicken or beef broth, then by all means, use that. However, you will lose some protein and the gut-healing properties in the bone broth.
- My version has Asian vibes with ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil, but you could flavor it however you want or keep it simple and do the rice, bone broth, and chicken. A little lemon would brighten it up!
- If you’re vegan but like a thick and delicious rice soup, you can make this with rice, vegetable broth, and any aromatics and veggies you want.
- Speaking of veggies, you can load it up! I often add half a cup of whatever I have prepped.
Storage
- Because of the chicken, this will only last a maximum of four days in your refrigerator, but this is a single serving meant to be enjoyed immediately. If you want to double or triple the recipe and refrigerate it, it will get very thick once it cools, and you will have to add more bone broth to loosen it up when you reheat it!
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Chicken Congee Recipe
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, garlic, ginger, and 2 cups of broth to a small pot.
- Bring this mixture to a boil, and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Gently simmer for one hour, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes. See notes below.
- About 15 minutes before the soup is done, remove 1/3 cup of the hot broth from the pot. See notes below.
- Crack the egg into the bowl, and slowly drizzle in the hot broth while constantly whisking.
- When the soup is done, add the tempered egg to the pot when the soup is done, stirring constantly.
Notes
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