Prep time: 45 minutes Cook time: 70 minutes Serving: 6 quart pot
Ingredients:
For the congee:
1 brown rooster (ga vang tam vang/ga Kei Fei chicken) 32 oz Swanson’s Chicken Broth 6 quarts water (1.5 gallon) 1.5 cup uncooked jasmine rice 2+ Tbsp sugar 1+ Tbsp sea salt 1 yellow onion (1 Tbsp onion powder) 1/2 daikon (optional) piece of ginger (about 4 inches long)
For the garnish: 1 bunch cilantro 1 bunch scallion 1 cup fried shallots black pepper to taste
For the goi ga (chicken salad) dressing:
- 2 tsp pure cane sugar
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp lime juice
2 cups chopped rau râm1 cabbage head1 red onion
For the ginger fish sauce: just add grated ginger to the sweet and sour fish sauce (nuoc mam chua ngot)
Direction:
Step 1: Roast the uncooked jasmine rice on medium heat until semi golden color.
Step 2: Chop the rooster’s head, neck, feet, and wings off. Cut the breast open so it can fit into the pot easier if necessary.
Step 3: In a 15-quart pot, put the chicken in along with the daikon, yellow onion, and peeled ginger. (I charred the onion and ginger.) Add in the carton of 32-ounce chicken broth and 6 quarts of water making sure the liquid completely covers the chicken. Add in 2 Tbsp sugar, 1.5 Tbsp sea salt, and black pepper. Close pot with lid and cook for 40 minutes. The broth took 30 minutes to boil on high heat. Once it starts boiling, I turned the heat doing to medium high for the remaining time.
Discard any scum when broth starts to boil. When time is up or chicken is cooked, scoop the chicken out into a colander. Set aside to cool.
Step 4: Pour the roasted jasmine rice into the pot. Close with lid, set timer for 30 minutes, and cook on low heat (#3) until the rice fully expands.
Step 5: Prep the vegetables. Chop the scallion and cilantro. Slice the red onion as thin as possible. Wash and rinse the rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) and discard the stems. Shred the cabbage head as thin as possible.
Step 6: Shred the chicken breast and thighs for the chicken salad.
Step 7: Make the chicken salad (goi ga). In a large mixing bowl, mix 2 parts shredded cabbage, 1 part rau ram leaves, 1 part sliced red onion, and 1 part shredded chicken meat together. (One part means 2 cups in this pictorial.) Make the salad dressing. Add 1 tablespoon of the dressing at a time into the chicken salad to your preference. (I added about 2 tablespoons of the dressing per quart of chicken salad. Mix it up up well.
Step 8: Make the ginger fish sauce. I always have a jar of sweet and sour fish sauce handy so all I needed to do was grate some fresh ginger and add it to the fish sauce mixture. (Omit the chili paste for this salad.)
Step 9: Enjoy! Garnish the hot chicken congee with some scallion, cilantro, and fried shallots. Serve the chicken congee with a side of ginger fish sauce and a plate of chicken salad. I kinda dump everything into my bowl .
