Chicken Congee, A Perfect Recipe for the Cold Weather!

Congee or “Lugaw” in Tagalog is one of my favorite comfort food during rainy days. Its a hearty meal, even if it’s just a plain congee. My mother usually serves it  when I’m sick, and for some reason, I always feel better after having one bowl of this hot porridge. It can be served plain or with any type of meats and even vegetables added into it but I prefer the chicken congee. For this recipe, I use brown rice but you can substitute it with white rice if you prefer.

Chicken Congee

Serves: 2-3
Cooking Time: 1 hour and 30 mins.

Ingredients:

• One cup brown rice
• 2 pcs. chicken leg quarter, cut into 3 pieces
• strips of fresh ginger
• 8 cups of water
• 1pc. Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
• 2 boiled eggs
• 2 tbsps. cooking oil
• 2 tsps. Annatto powder (for color)
• salt and pepper to taste

For garnishing:

• chopped spring onion

Directions: 

1. Rinse the rice and soak it for approximately 20 minutes, then drain and set aside.
2. In a large pot, place the oil and sauté the ginger, followed by the chicken pieces.
3. Saute the chicken until some of the juices have come out, remove it from the pot when it’s  skin turns a bit brownish.
4. Put the drained rice into the pot, sauté for a few minutes, then add the water. Bring it all to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to simmer, add back the chicken pieces, then cover ( place the lid slightly open so that the boiling water will not overflow from the pot).
6. Stir occasionally, add the chicken bouillon cubes and Annatto powder, let it simmer for about an hour.
7. When the rice has thickened and the chicken pieces have become tender, add the boiled egg and season according to taste. Remove from heat.
8. Serve it in a bowl then garnish it with spring onion.

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