Easy congee with chicken & mushroom (香菇鸡肉粥)

Method10 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: The night before cooking, rinse the cup of uncooked jasmine rice (1 cup) under running water. Drain, discard the rinsing water and put the damp rice in a food container or bag. Freeze overnight; keep it frozen until adding it to the pot.

   Uses 1 cup uncooked jasmine rice · Water, enough to rinse the rice before freezing

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Also the night before, cover the four dried shiitake mushrooms with their separate soaking water and soak overnight in the refrigerator. Before cooking, lift and thinly slice the softened mushrooms. Strain their soaking water to remove grit and reserve it with the mushrooms.

   Uses 4 dried shiitake mushrooms · Water, enough to soak the four dried shiitake mushrooms overnight

3. 3

   Step 3: Pour the 6 cups boiling congee water into a pot. Add the frozen rice from step 1, the sliced mushrooms and strained soaking liquid from step 2, and the separate ½ teaspoon congee salt.

   Uses 6 cups boiling water for the congee · Frozen rinsed rice, separate from discarded rinsing water · Sliced rehydrated mushrooms and their strained soaking liquid · ½ tsp salt for the congee

4. 4

   Step 4: Bring the rice-and-mushroom pot from step 3 back to a boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting.

   Uses rice and mushrooms in their cooking liquid

5. 5

   Step 5: Cover the pot from step 4 and simmer gently for 10 minutes. While it simmers, prepare the chicken seasoning in step 6.

   Simmer frozen-rice congee · 10 minUses covered rice-and-mushroom pot

6. 6

   Step 6: While the rice simmers, mix the thinly sliced chicken breast (1) with its teaspoon light soy sauce (1 tsp), teaspoon oyster sauce (1 tsp), ½ teaspoon Shaoxing wine, ½ teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon sesame oil and separate pinches of white pepper (1 pinch), salt (1 pinch) and sugar (1 pinch). Keep the seasoned chicken cold until adding it to the congee.

   Uses 1 chicken breast, cut against the grain into narrow strips or thin slices · 1 tsp light soy sauce for the chicken · 1 tsp oyster sauce for the chicken · ½ tsp Shaoxing rice wine for the chicken · ½ tsp cornstarch for the chicken · ½ tsp sesame oil for the chicken · 1 pinch ground white pepper for the chicken · 1 pinch salt for the chicken

7. 7

   Step 7: After the rice simmer in step 5, stir all the seasoned chicken from step 6 and the tablespoon minced ginger into the hot congee. Separate the strips so they cook evenly. Cook for about 1 minute, then check that the chicken reaches 74°C throughout. Continue gently cooking if needed; turn off the heat only once the chicken is fully cooked.

   Cook chicken: check after 1 minute · 1 minUses simmered rice-and-mushroom congee · seasoned raw chicken strips · 1 tbsp ginger, minced

   
8. 8

   Step 8: With the chicken fully cooked, leave the covered congee pot from step 7 off the heat for a further 1 minute.

   Rest covered congee off heat · 1 minUses fully cooked chicken-and-mushroom congee

9. 9

   Step 9: Stir the chopped scallions (2) into the rested congee from step 8. If it is thicker than you prefer, stir in a little optional hot thinning water. Divide into four serving bowls.

   Uses rested cooked congee · 2 scallion stalks, finely chopped · Additional hot water, only as needed to thin the cooked congee or its leftovers

10. 10

    Step 10: If using the optional toppings, put half a ready hard-boiled egg on each of the four bowls from step 9 and divide the crushed ready toasted peanuts (4 tbsp) over them. Serve warm. Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly in shallow containers within 2 hours; reheat thoroughly to 74°C, stirring and adding a little hot water if needed.

    Uses four chicken-and-mushroom congee bowls · 2 ready hard-boiled eggs, optional · 4 tbsp ready toasted peanuts, crushed, optional · Additional hot water, only as needed to thin the cooked congee or its leftovers