Poached Chicken Congee

by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley, featured in Ottolenghi Comfort

Published by Ebury

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Introduction

This is comfort food by so many measures. The soothing texture of the chicken and porridge; the chicken-soup-for-the-soul; bowl food eaten with a spoon or chopsticks. It’s the sort of food we eat when we are in need of something soothing and convivial, and is a dish that takes Helen straight back home. Kids love it too: you might just hold back on the sprinkle of peppercorns and chilli at the end.

Getting ahead: The congee is best made fresh, but the chicken can be poached and shredded the day before. You’ll need to warm it up before serving, or stir it into the hot congee, rather than placing on top.

As featured in

Ottolenghi Comfort

Image of Ottolenghi's Congee — Photo by Jonathan Lovekin

Ingredients

Serves: 4

POACHED CHICKEN AND STOCK

1 small chicken (about 1.1kg)
50 grams ginger (unpeeled and lightly bashed)
15 whole black peppercorns
3 banana shallots peeled and halved lengthways (170g)
5 cloves of garlic (unpeeled and lightly bashed)
20 grams coriander stems (reserve the leaves for the topping)
salt

CONGEE

200 grams jasmine rice
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 banana shallots finely chopped (155g)
25 grams ginger (peeled and finely grated to get 1 tbsp)
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
1¾ litres chicken stock (see step 1)
30 millilitres fish sauce

FOR THE TOPPINGS (any or all of the following)

4 spring onions finely sliced (40g)
40 grams shop-bought crispy fried onions
25 grams toasted sesame seeds
20 grams coriander leaves (from the stems used above)
100 grams beansprouts
1 teaspoon crushed white peppercorns (don’t substitute ground white pepper here)
1 - 2 red chillies (thinly sliced)
crispy chilli oil
1 lime cut into wedges, to serve

Method

Poached Chicken Congee is a guest recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller and Tara Wigley so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Place the chicken in a medium stockpot or deep casserole dish, breast side up. Add 3–3½ litres of water: you want the chicken to be just covered. Add all the other poaching ingredients, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, and bring to a simmer on a medium-high heat. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and cook gently for 1½ hours. Skim a few times, and don’t allow the stock to come to the boil at any point. To check when the chicken is done, tug gently at one of the drumsticks: it should start to detach. Turn off the heat, then, using a large slotted spoon, lift the chicken out of the stock and transfer it to a large rimmed plate. Set aside to cool.
Place the rice in a sieve and rinse really well until the water runs clear. Set aside to drain. Put the sesame oil into a large saucepan and place on a medium heat. Add the shallots and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until softened. Add the garlic and ¼ teaspoon of salt, cook for another 2 minutes, then add the rice. Stir and then strain 1.75 litres of the chicken stock over the rice (the vegetables can be discarded and the remaining stock can be used in other dishes or frozen). Cook on a medium heat for 30 minutes, uncovered and stirring regularly, until the rice is soft and starting to break down: it should have the consistency of oatmeal porridge. Add the fish sauce.
While the congee is cooking, tear the chicken off the bones into shreds.
To serve, divide the congee between four large soup bowls, then top with the shredded chicken and the rest of the toppings. Serve with a wedge of lime.