Chicken Congee with Instant Pot

 

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons ginger (grated)
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 2 green onions (sliced with whites and greens divided)
• 2 whole chicken legs
• 7 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 2 shallots (sliced thinly)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 soft-boiled eggs
• For garnish: fish sauce or soy sauce

Rinse rice in separate bowl. 

Add the sesame oil to the insert of the Instant Pot add the garlic, ginger, and the whites of the scallions. Press the saute button and saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until the oil has heated and the aromatics have become fragrant.

Add the rice to the instant pot and pour in the chicken broth, then add the chicken legs to the pot. Stir gently.

Put the lid on top, set to seal and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. Naturally release for 20 minute, then if there's any pressure remaining you can finish releasing the steam manually. Or if your Instant Pot has the porridge setting, simply press the porridge setting and allow the pot to reduce pressure naturally.

While the congee is cooking, prepare the crispy shallots. Slice the shallots thinly and add them to the cold oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Heat on medium high heat, stirring frequently until all of the shallots are crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Remove the lid from the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken bones and chicken pieces from the pot. Discard the bones.

f you want the congee thicker you can set the pot to the sauté setting and stir constantly until it reaches your desired thickness. Shred the chicken. Stir the shredded chicken back into the congee.

Divide the congee among four bowls. Add the soft-boiled eggs, crispy shallots, sliced green onions, and a dash of fish sauce to each bowl. Top with any of your other favorite toppings.

• Cubed avocado, lime wedges, cilantro, sliced jalapeño, sliced scallions, chopped roasted, salted peanuts, chili oil, fish sauce, hot sauce, soy sauce, and/or crispy fried shallots (for serving; choose as many as you like)

• To make it vegetarian or vegan, replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Add crispy tofu instead of the eggs. Sauteed mushrooms are another great addition for toppings, especially if serving it as a vegan dish.
• Other delicious garnishes: chopped peanuts, hot sauce, chopped Chinese fried donut sticks, sautéed mushrooms, chili oil, fish sauce, shrimp paste, ground pork, corn, cilantro, sautéed bok choy, sesame seeds.

CREDIT Spruce Eats and Epicurious 

• Make sure you do not manually release the pressure initially. Give it the 20 minutes needed to naturally release first. When very hot, the congee can actually get pulled into the valve and cause a big mess if you manually release right away.