What Makes A Perfect Chicken Congee Jook Recipe?

Congee is a rice porridge, also known as Jook (粥). I grew up with it because it is an affordable meal as my family wasn’t rich. As a firstborn, I had to help my parents by taking care of my litter sisters. Jook is what I would feed them when they were little babies. It is so comfortable and easy to digest. Making congee is super easy but if you want to make it perfect, there are some tricks here and there. Let me share my secrets with you.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

2.5 cups of Cooked Rice
8-10 cups of unsalted chicken stock
6 shitake mushrooms
2 bok choy
Julienne ginger
Diced scallion
2 tsps. of salt or to taste
1/2 tbsp of sugar

To marinate the chicken

14 oz of chicken breast
1 tsp of salt
1 egg white
1/2 tsp garlic powder

INSTRUCTIONS

Bring 8 cups of chicken stock to a boil. Add cooked rice and simmer for 10 minutes. To prevent the congee from overflowing, you can place a pair of chopsticks on the pot and put the lid on top of it.

Slice the chicken breast thinly. Marinade it with salt, Chinese cooking wine, egg white, cornstarch, and garlic powder. Mix this for 5 minutes.

Slice the mushrooms. Chop the baby bok choy. Julienne the ginger. Dice the scallion.

Add the mushroom slices and the ginger shreds to the rice soup. Season with some salt and sugar to taste.

Use a whisk to stir the rice soup for a few minutes to break up the grains. The more you stir, the thicker and creamer your jook will come out. Check the consistency of your jook and decide if you need to add more stock or water. If you do, bring the stock or water to a boil on a separate stove before adding.

Add the marinade chicken to the rice soup. Stir well to make sure they don’t stick together. Turn off the heat as soon as the chicken changes color. Let the rest of the heat to cook the chicken through so you don’t overcook your meat.

Last, add the baby bok choy, white pepper, sesame oil, and diced scallion. You can serve jook with deep-fried donut sticks, pickled vegetables, or fermented tofu.

[Lungxiaoyao]

My wife (chinese) is ill, down with a cold and fever. She does'nt want to eat. So I made this dish for her. I am not really into Congee, but this dish is great. She loves it, I finally found a congee I like, will definitely make it again.

[thewaterslesstraveled]

I actually spent a few years in prison and most of my friends inside were in different Asian organized crime syndicates, congee was a regular dish on our menu because the prison food itself was pretty awful, we would have the kitchen just give us some raw ingredients instead of the prepared meals and then we'd buy rice from the prison store. We also had bok choy growing in the garden outside our unit. I have a surprisingly good amount of culinary memories from my time spent there 😂

[jaclyniicole]

I made congee for the first time a few weeks ago. It was seasoned only with ginger and salt but I made toppings like soy sauce ground pork, stir fried baby corn, pickled carrots, scallions, and chili oil. So so good and my family loved it too.

[rippermcguinn]

I spent some time travelling back and forth to Shanghai for business. I went down to the hotel restaurant for my first breakfast, and was surprised to find that the dining room was split, with an "Eastern" side and a "Western" side. I was automatically ushered to the "Western" side, where the menu consisted of bacon, eggs, toast, waffles... what you might expect. On the second day, I surprised the waiter by asking to be seated on the "Eastern" side, where it turned out I was the only Westerner. There was no menu, just a stack of bowls, a large pot of congee, youtiao, and probably thirty different toppings.

That was it for me - on subsequent trips I always ate "Eastern" breakfast, and congee remains one of my favorite comfort foods.

[daisysmum]

I’m definitely trying this. A friend of mine made me congee many years ago when I wasn’t feeling well. It was the best bowl of comfort and happiness I ever tasted.

[lesbutler]

Her meticulous annunciation and precise language is a pure joy to behold. Her recipes are one of my top 'go to's.'

[jschmitt]

Congee is a new favourite in our house. I had covid a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't seriously ill but I did feel a bit sorry for myself for a few days. Bowls of congee were very comforting and so easy to prepare.

[ivyclark]

We love chicken conger. My family adds a spoonful of preserved radish, fried shallots and freshly cut spring onions. We sometimes serve the congee into a bowl with 1 raw egg per serve. That gives it a luxurious creaminess from the part cooked egg.

[msrhodes]

My husband and I would like to thank you for sharing your culture with us! This soup was fantastic 😋. I'll never want regular chicken soup again! I look forward to trying other recipes from you as well. God bless you and and your family!

[tamarasumpter]

Today i wasn’t feeling good because my daughter got covid and then i got it from her. Long story short, i woke up started looking at YouTubes and saw this video and because i always have all of these ingredients on hand, so I unthawed the chicken and then proceeded to make this porridge. I see these rice porridges being made all the time for breakfast, lunch, when someone is under the weather you name it so i made it for the first time. I have to tell you my daughter does not like American style soups and she came to my door to tell me she loved it. It is such a great recipe especially when your not feeling well. Thanks so much!❤️

[LENNY]

A friend treated me to congee at a local restaurant, and I loved it (fish). Someone also brought a batch to a pot luck for a group I belonged to, and it was delicious (chicken). So I tried making the pot luck version. In an instant pot. The recipe I found called for 1 cup of rice, and I believe 4 cups of broth or water, and cook. It was of course too thick, and the rice was not cooked. So I added more water and stirred. A few minutes later, rice was cooked a little better, but still too thick. So more broth. Also added some flavourings - salt, pepper, sesame oil, and I believe green onions. A few minutes later, rice was still too thick. More water. By the time I had the right consistency, I think I could have fed half of Taiwan. So thank you for a complete demonstration of how to do this, and for the ingredient amounts. I will definitely try this again.

[sherlynpek]

I made this tdy for my bestie who just had an op…. She said it’s very yummy.. even her mom also agrees! I’m so happy!!!

[john-]

i tried congee for the first time a week ago on Singapore airlines, only because everyone else opted for the other dish so i had no choice, WOW, i toughly enjoyed this dish, the stewardess came to me after the meal apological expecting me to dislike this, it was one of the best things i have eaten, i will eat this again.

[MsMeiv]

My mum used to add Gor Pay, dried naartjie (satsuma????) peel to the jook... a touch of citrus warmth, absolute heaven

[FlyingPancake]

This was my go to dish I had whenever I was sick growing up and it's what I make now for anyone who isn't feeling well. Literally the best comfort food.

[tracyalan]

My favorite Chinese resturant made with Roast Duck and Chicken. The oils from both roasted meat made it so decadent.

[prichicardos]

I'm from Spain, just did your recipe and I want to say: "Thank you, that was awesome 😀". That marinate works like a charm...

[carmenpeters]

I can't eat the rice. in fact there's a lot of things you make that I can't eat. I enjoy watching you teach. you are so thoughtful and articulate. really you are one of the best on you tube. actually no. you are the best. the hot and sour soup I learned to make is restaurant quality thanks to you. ❤

[Gogogoogle]

Great recipe, I often simmer a whole chicken to make a stock. Not boil it! but simmer like you did here. Alot of people dont like the idea of water cooked chicken, but when done correctly it is delicious and an ergonomic way of prepping meals. Thanks for the recipe

[rina_bambina]

I am married to a Vietnamese and he'd have Chao Ga/Congee quite often, I've never liked it before. Then we flew to Singapore and they served Congee on the plane. I don't know what happened, but I wanted to eat it and it was SOOOO good that I now ask my husband to cook Congee for me every other week. It's such a comforting food. I love to eat it with some Maggi, Rau Ram, Cilantro, fresh Spring Onions, Porkfloss and fried Onions. 😅😅