Chicken rice soup, also called chicken congee or chicken porridge, is commonly used to nurture sickly family members. This hot chicken soup, plus sliced onion and Vietnamese coriander (rau ram) is very light and pleasant on the stomach, and is a traditional way to help relieve fever, headache, and sore throat. I always cook this soup when someone in my family is sick. My husband loves it, he always orders chicken rice soup when he’s not feeling well. This dish can also be served as a light lunch or dinner.
Recipe for Chao Ga – Vietnamese Chicken Rice Soup or Chicken Congee:
1/2 small onion, lightly roasted
1 small piece of ginger (2 inches), sliced
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
Salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 (2 pounds) whole chicken
1 piece of rock sugar (~ 1 tablespoon of sugar)
1/3 cup long grain rice
1/3 cup mung beans (without skin)
1 lime, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons chopped Vietnamese coriander leaves
1 tablespoon sliced chives, golden onions
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
In a large saucepan place 5 cups of water, bring to a boil, add the chicken and return to a boil. Turn off the heat, discard the water, and wash the chicken clean. This first water is full of impurities, I always throw it away. Clean the saucepan and add 8 cups of water, return to a boil and return the chicken to the saucepan. Add the onion, ginger, fish sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper and simmer for 30 minutes, removing any surface impurities.
While the chicken is simmering, in a clean saucepan, simmer the mung beans until fragrant but not brown. Add fried beans to chicken broth. Reduce heat to simmer and cook mung beans, stirring regularly, for 25 to 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes of cooking, remove the chicken and soak it in ice water for 10 minutes, reserving the broth. Put the chicken in a colander and let it drain. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces, then marinate with 1 teaspoon of salt, a pinch of pepper, juice of 1/2 lime, and add Vietnamese coriander leaves, mix well and set aside.
In the same pan fry the mung beans, fry the rice over low heat until fragrant but not golden. Discard the onion and ginger from the broth, then add rice to the soup, stirring so that the rice and mung beans are evenly combined. Cook for about 25-30 minutes or until the rice grains have bloomed and curled, stirring regularly to avoid burning. Taste and add additional salt as needed.
Fold the shredded chicken through the chao and place into individual soup bowls. Garnish with the sliced chives, cilantro and squeeze a couple drops of lemon juice as desired.
For 4 people.
Enjoy!