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Vietnamese-style chicken rice congee recipe

Vietnamese-style chicken rice congee recipe

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Created by The Tesco Recipes team

Food writer, author and photographer, Uyen Luu shares her favourite dish for Lunar New Year – this rice congee. 'This light brothy rice porridge is a very humble dish', explains Uyen, 'made luxurious with the sweet, sour and spicy chicken salad; its cold and crunchy textures contrasting with the silky, hot and warming soup. Using a whole chicken symbolises togetherness.' See method

  • Serves 8
  • Takes 1 hr 30 mins
  • 391 calories / serving
  • Gluten-free
  • Dairy-free

Ingredients

  • 1.65kg whole chicken
  • 2 tsp sea salt flakes
  • 15g light brown soft sugar
  • 2 onions, peeled but left whole
  • 2 carrots, peeled but left whole
  • 100g jasmine rice
  • 150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
  • 40g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce

For the salad

  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 200g white cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 50g red cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and julienned
  • 30g pack fresh coriander, snipped with scissors or torn
  • 30g pack fresh mint, torn

For the nu'ó'c măm dressing

  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 bird eye chillies, finely chopped, plus extra (optional)
  • 1 lemon or lime, zested and juiced
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or clear honey
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
White rice can always be swapped for brown (check cooking instructions for timings)

Each serving contains

  • Energy

    1640kj
    391kcal     20%

  • Fat

    18g 26%

  • Saturates

    5g 26%

  • Sugars

    11g 12%

  • Salt

    3.9g 65%

of the reference intake
Carbohydrate 24.4g Protein 30g Fibre 3.7g

Method

  1. Put 1.7ltrs water in a very large, lidded saucepan. Once boiling, add the chicken, salt, brown sugar, onions, carrots, rice, mushrooms and ginger; cover, then bring to the boil again over a low-medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40 mins or until the rice grains have blossomed and thickened the broth, and the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the fish sauce, re-cover, then remove from the heat and let the residual heat cook the congee for a further 20 mins.
  2. Transfer the whole chicken to a bowl of cold water and set aside for 10 mins. Slice the carrots and return to the rice mixture; discard the onions. Season the broth to taste, if you like.
  3. Meanwhile, mix the red onion with the sugar, vinegar and 2 tsp ground black pepper; set aside to pickle for at least 10 mins. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together; set aside.
  4. When ready to serve, mix the sliced cabbages, carrot, coriander, mint and pickled onion together. Shred the chicken, discarding the skin, and add to the mix. Pour over the dressing and toss together.
  5. To serve, ladle the hot congee into soup bowls, then add the chicken salad and mix most of it through (leaving some on top as a garnish) to gently heat the raw vegetables but leave some crunch. Finish with a twist of black pepper and extra sliced bird eye chillies, if you like.

See more Lunar New Year recipes

For top tips on protecting you and your family when preparing raw meat and poultry, visit Food Safety in the Home.

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