30-Minute Chicken Congee with Leftover Rice

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Yesterday's rice and the last of the roast chicken turn into a silky, ginger-scented rice porridge in half an hour — no overnight soaking, no special ingredients. Cold cooked rice actually breaks down faster than raw grains, so this is the fastest congee you'll ever make, and it stretches a small amount of leftover meat into four warming bowls.

Ingredients

• 3 cups leftover cooked rice, cold
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 cups leftover roast chicken, shredded
• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Break up the cold leftover rice with your fingers in a bowl so there are no big clumps. Tip it into a large pot with the chicken stock, sliced ginger and salt.
2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a low simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and scraping the bottom, until the grains have collapsed and the congee is thick and creamy like loose porridge. Splash in more stock or water if it gets thicker than you like.
3. Stir in the shredded roast chicken and simmer 5 minutes more, just to heat it through — don't boil hard or the meat will toughen.
4. With the congee at a bare simmer, pour the beaten eggs in a thin stream over the surface while stirring in slow circles. They will set into fine silky ribbons in about 30 seconds.
5. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper. Taste and add a little more salt or soy if your leftovers were lightly seasoned.
6. Ladle into bowls and pile on the sliced scallions. Serve straight away, while it's steaming.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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