Vietnamese Chicken Congee (Cháo Gà)
In the world of Vietnamese cuisine, chicken congee, also known as cháo gà, is arguably the most comforting dish one can eat. As of lately, we definitely need this level of culinary comfort in our lives (2021 is no joke). I approach my chicken congee the way I approach most of my Vietnamese dishes involving chicken broth. I level up by adding an extra layer of complexity to the broth by charring the veggies in my broth base. Yes it’s not the traditional way to make chicken congee, but when it comes to the kitchen, experimentation is key to becoming a good cook, and I’m all about breaking the rules. Ginger, garlic, and onion are charred on the surface to give an otherwise plain broth a little extra oomph. Normally we do this with phở, but wouldn’t it be special if we did it with congee? Note that you can skip this step if you are short on time, or have little patience. The thing about an amazing chicken congee is that it requires patience and time though. The best dishes do. There is nothing that compares to a homemade broth prepared with thoughtfulness, especially when they are simple dishes. If you have the palate, you appreciate the complexities a lot more. Now the only shortcut I take when making chicken congee is that I don’t boil a whole chicken to make the broth. I prefer dark meat as my topping (juicier, more flavor IMO), so I purchase chicken thighs (bone and skin on). It also makes the broth a lot easier to handle, but that’s not why I do it. Feel free to boil a whole chicken (offal removed), or use white meat only if you prefer. Just make sure you leave the bone and skin on so that the broth gets its bone-rich flavor as it develops. Finally, lets talk about toppings. Chicken congee is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing without Vietnamese coriander (rau răm), slivered scallions, freshly ground pepper, a squeeze of lime, and you guessed it—fresh fried shallots. So make sure you don’t skip out on all 5 of these. I also like to add a small dash of Maggi seasoning right before eating (even though it really doesn’t need it). So ladies and gents, I present to you my Vietnamese Chicken Congee. Bon appétit!
VIETNAMESE CHICKEN CONGEE (CHÁO GÀ)
Degree of difficulty: 2 (on a scale of 1-5)
Preparation + cooking: 2 hours
YOU’LL NEED
Cheesecloth + string
A grill wire rack or rack and pan (if using a handheld torch) for charring
A large stockpot
INGREDIENTS (serves 4-6 people)
4 lbs of chicken thighs, skin bone on (I used two packages of 4 thighs/package)
15 cups of water
¾ cup of sweet rice, washed and strained
¾ cup of short grain rice, washed and strained
note: you can also use brown rice if you are being health conscious--and if you are, I recommend pre-soaking it for a few hours before hand, as brown rice takes longer to cook.
One 4-5” piece of ginger, peeled
2 large yellow onions
1 head of garlic, with the bottom third of it sliced off crosswise
9 black peppercorns
1 TBS chicken stock powder
1 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS salt
3 TSP sugar
Lime wedges
Vietnamese Coriander (rau răm)
Scallions (the lower 2”), rinsed and sliced into slivers
DIRECTIONS
Char your onions, ginger, and the exposed part of your garlic using your gas stove or a handheld butane torch. If you are using your gas stovetop to char, I recommend using a round grill wire rack (see photo above). I use this rack all the time for charring. If you are using a handheld torch, I recommend torching over a baking rack on top of a sheet pan. You want to char until onions, ginger, and garlic are at least 60% charred, flipping over and rearranging with tongs carefully when some sides have blackened. When you are done, set them aside in a bowl to cool, and then using cheesecloth and string, tie them (make sure to include your peppercorns) into a pouch. This keeps the charred skin from floating around in the broth, and keeps the broth clean and clear, and will save you time from fishing around for ingredients later.
Begin blanching your chicken in boiling water and a 1 TBS of salt. Remove the chicken from the pot, discard the water, and set aside.
Using a large stockpot, add 15 cups of hot water, your pouch of onions, ginger, and garlic, and peppercorn, and your chicken thighs, and bring the heat to a full boil. Then reduce the heat to a medium-low, cover, and cook for 1 hour. While the broth is cooking, skim off any crud that rises to the surface, making sure to keep at least 50% of the chicken fat (that rises to the top) in the broth (this gives it more depth and flavor).
Remove your chicken thighs and allow them to cool for about 20 minutes. Once they are cool, you can shred the chicken with your hands, removing the bones and skin, and non-meaty excess parts. Store the chicken until you’re ready to eat.
With your heat still on medium-low, stir in your short grain and sweet rice. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning. After 20 minutes, remove from heat, allowing the residual heat to continue cooking the rice into a nice porridge like texture.
Add in 1.5 TBS chicken stock powder, 1 TBS salt, 1 TBS of fish sauce, and 3 TSP sugar. Give it a nice stir to blend all of the seasonings well.
Ladle the congee in a bowl, top with the shredded chicken, Vietnamese coriander leaves, slivered scallions, a couple grinds of pepper, and last but not least, fried shallots. Squeeze with a small wedge of lime for an extra punch of flavor. Add a dash of Maggi seasoning if desired.