Comfort calls for Vietnamese chicken congee (chao ga)

Chao ga is a staple in Vietnamese households and the perfect accompaniment for these winter months.

Congee is a perfect winter meal. Source: Duncan Lu

Lighter in consistency compared to its Chinese and Greek counterparts (jook/zhou and avgolemono, respectively), chao ga is made from rice that's cooked in a fragrant chicken broth until it reaches a porridge-like consistency.

In Vietnamese homes, it's usually served with two sides: a fresh chicken and cabbage salad to cleanse the palate between spoonfuls of congee, and fried Chinese donuts to soak it all up.

Learn how to make Vietnamese congee. Source: Duncan Lu

When I was growing up, my family made congee on the lighter and soupier side, but the texture of Vietnamese congee can differ between households. 

After spending some time within family homes in Vietnam, I noticed that some families prepare rice for congee differently. This is largely due to the family's preferences in texture. Those who like a thick congee will opt to not toast their rice to retain its starch, while some families add glutinous rice to get a thicker and stickier congee.

You can use toasted rice to make Vietnamese congee. Source: Duncan Lu

My family toasted the rice in a fry pan until lightly golden before adding it to the chicken broth. As you'll find in the recipe below, this leads to a congee that's light in consistency with a nutty taste profile. The rice grains are soft and break apart but don't disintegrate. 

Vietnamese chicken congee (chao ga) 

Serves 5-6

In a large stock pot add:

• 1 chicken
• 1 brown onion (bottom cut off)
• ½ bunch spring onions
• 1 bunch coriander stalks
• Knob of ginger, slightly crushed
• 30 ml fish sauce
• 1 tsp anchovy salt or extra sea salt
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1½ tsp sugar
• 15 g dried shrimp (optional)

Add water to cover and bring to the boil, then simmer on low for 12 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and leave covered for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pan on low-medium heat toast:

• 200 g jasmine rice

until lightly golden brown. 

Remove cooked chicken and place into a large bowl of cold water for 5-7 minutes. Shred chicken and set aside for the salad. Strain chicken broth and bring back to the boil.

Add toasted rice to broth and simmer on low-medium, occasionally stirring for 15 minutes or until rice grains begin to break down. Season with additional fish sauce, sea salt or sugar to your taste then remove from heat and set aside.

To make the Vietnamese salad toss together:

• ¼ white cabbage thinly sliced
• 2 carrots grated
• 1 red onion thinly sliced
• 1 bunch mint roughly chopped
• ½ bunch coriander leaves roughly chopped

For the salad dressing, in a small bowl combine:

• 150ml water
• 3 ½ tbsp sugar
• Juice of a lime/lemon
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 4 tbsp fish sauce

Mix well until sugar dissolves then pour over tossed salad and place shredded chicken on top.

Ladle congee into large serving bowls and to finish off, garnish with:

• ½ bunch spring onions, finely chopped
• ½ bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 100 g bean sprouts
• White pepper 

Enjoy with Vietnamese chicken salad on the side along with some cut up Chinese donuts (youtiao).

 

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