Asian Flava: Chicken and Century Egg Congee

Chicken and Century Egg Congee

Congee (kanji, ganji, ghanji, juk, chao, jok, kayu, orjaou, or zhou) is a type of rice porridge eaten in many Asian countries. It is often eaten as a breakfast food or a late supper, but can also be used as a substitute for rice. Because congee is popular in so many cultures, over time, multiple variations of this dish have formed. The type of congee I made is one that is eaten in many parts of China and East Asia.

Ingredients:

1 lb of Chicken Breast

1 cup of Glutinous rice

3 Century Eggs*

10 Cloves of garlic

3 sprigs of green onion and salt/pepper to taste

1. Soak the rice in cold water for at least one hour.

2. Peel the garlic.

3. To make the broth, place the chicken breast, garlic cloves, and 9 cups of cold water to a large pot.

4. Boil the contents of the broth on medium high for 1 hour.

5. Remove the pot from the stove. Remove the chicken and garlic pieces. Use a colander or sieve to remove the floating particles and drain the broth into a slightly smaller pot.

6. Put the pot back on the stove and turn the fire to medium high. Drain the rice and add it to the broth. Cook the rice for 40 minutes. Make sure to stir the rice once in a while to prevent it from getting burned.

7. While the rice is cooking, use your fingers to shred the chicken. Stop when you reach 1 cup of shredded chicken. Reserve the rest of the chicken for another recipe (for example, chicken salad).

8. Chop the century eggs into small pieces.

9. Chop the green onions into small pieces.

10. When the 40 minutes for cooking the rice are up, stir in 2/3 of your chopped century eggs, 2/3 cup of the shredded chicken, and around 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for another 15 minutes.

11. Remove the pot from the fire.

12. Garnish and serve with green onion, the remaining century eggs, and the remaining 1/3 cup of shredded chicken. 

*Century egg, or pi dan (in Mandarin Chinese) is an egg that has been preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice hulls for several weeks (or months). Through this method of preservation, the egg white turns into a translucent, green-black, jelly-like substance and the egg yolk takes on a creamy texture. 

By Gillian