Fall is quickly approaching, and with it cold and flu season…unfortunately. Growing up in Vietnam, whenever I’d get sick, my mom would make cháo gà. Cháo is porridge and gà is chicken. So when you put the words together it translates to chicken porridge.
When trying to decide what to make for this week, I wanted to repurpose the leftover grilled chicken from last week’s Vietnamese chicken salad post. So I thought why not use the leftover chicken in some porridge? After all, I have plenty of rice in the pantry…100 pounds to be exact 🤣.
What is chicken porridge?
Rice porridge is found in most Asian countries. The earliest reference of porridge is thought to have come from China. Each Asian country has their own version of rice porridge, and it ranges from savory to sweet. Vietnamese porridge is on the savory side and is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
There are many varieties of porridge. You can make it plain, with shredded chicken, ground beef or ground pork and garnished with fresh herbs.
How to make porridge
When my mom made porridge, it was just a lot of water and Jasmine rice. After she got the porridge to the right consistency, then she’d add in the meat. However, I wanted to add more flavors to the rice, so instead of cooking the rice in water, I cooked the rice in chicken broth with onions, garlic and carrots for added flavor.
I cook the rice until it has a consistency of oatmeal. If you like your porridge a bit more watery, add more broth. Or if you prefer it to be thicker, add less broth. After the rice is cooked, I add in the shredded chicken. Any shredded chicken will do. Today I’m using leftover grilled chicken from last week’s Vietnamese salad post. You can also use grilled chicken or even rotisserie chicken. Then garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro. I also like to drizzle a little bit of good garlic olive oil on top. Now you’ve got yourself a comforting bowl of chicken porridge.
How to store porridge
When making porridge, I like to portion out individual servings in separate containers and store them in the fridge. I’ve found that this way, the porridge lasts longer in the fridge.
Chicken Porridge (Cháo Gà)
Ingredients
- ½ chopped onion
- 6 cloves chopped garlic
- 2 medium carrots cut into large chunks this is used to flavor the broth. You can chop the carrots and incorporate it into the porridge if you want.
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 8½ cups chicken broth
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1½ cups uncooked Jasmine rice
Instructions
- Add oil into the pan along with the chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
- Saute for approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, carrots and let it simmer with the lid on until the carrots are tender.
- Add the fish sauce to the broth. Give the broth a taste to make sure it is to your liking.
- Measure out the rice in a separate bowl. Fill the rice up with water then swirl the rice around. The water will become cloudy, that's normal. Discard the water. Repeat 2X times.
- After the rice has been rinsed, place it into the chicken broth.
- Turn the heat on medium, close the lid and let the rice cook until done. Approximately 45 minutes.
- When the rice is done, give the pot a stir. I prefer the porridge to be on the thicker side, but if you want a more runny porridge, add some more broth until it gets to the consistency you like.
- Serve with shredded chicken, chopped green onion and a drizzle of garlic olive oil on top.
The next time someone you know feels a bit under the weather, make them a bowl of chicken porridge.
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