Vietnamese Chao Recipe - Incredibly Cheap, Easy Comfort Food

My love taught me how to make this dish, its something that she grew up eating, and since I tried it, it has become something that I have to cook at least once a week. It is ridiculously cheap and easy to make and this recipe will produce at least 6 bowls of steaming hot Chao, that will leave you wanting more.

If you haven't tried Chao (or congee), it is an incredibly versatile dish that can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch or dinner, there are also many variations, you can take it in any direction, even a sweet version if you wish. It's best described as a cross between a savory rice pudding and soup, the consistency is adjusted according to personal preference.

This recipe is for a simple Chicken Chao, although after the first four bowls are done, using the chicken up I usually substitute smoked, peppered mackerel for the final two bowls, this is usually on day three, and the flavors have melded together and developed at this point, making the final bowl of mackerel chao the best IMHO.

So you will need...

• 1 cup of rice ( I use Thai Jasmine in the absence of Vietnamese rice that was readily available in London)
• 10 cups water
• 2 x Chicken leg quarters (skin on)
• 6-7 Chestnut mushrooms or white mushrooms
• A thumb sized piece of root ginger (skin on)
• A chicken stock cube ( I prefer to use the Knorr stock pots)
• Chinese leaf, or your preferred type of cabbage
• A handful of coriander (cilantro)
• Three spring onions (scallions)
• Fish sauce
• Toasted sesame oil
• Freshly cracked black pepper or mixed pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar

You will also need one big non stick saucepan and one small non stick saucepan

One of the great things about this recipe is that there is no real preparation time, everything gets done as it is cooking, there is no down time, from start to finish should take about 2 hours.

First Start by briefly washing the rice...

Just give it a brief swirl in a little water to cover and tip away the water, you don't want to wash it too thoroughly, just a quick sloosh to get rid of the surface starch.

Then add the stock pot or stock cube, quarter the mushrooms after washing or wiping them with kitchen roll. Slice the ginger and add these to the rice.

• TIP: Since you eat the Ginger like any other root vegetable in this dish, I like to slice it fairly thin at an angle so that each piece tapers into a sharp edge. this helps to get the ginger flavor into the Chao and also improves the flavour when you come to eat it.

Slice too thick and it can be overpowering when eating, depending on your fondness for ginger, this way it is nice and subtle.

Then add the chicken leg quaters...

Cover with the water and get it on a high heat to bring to the boil, at this point add a glug of Fish sauce , a glug of toasted sesame oil, crack some black pepper into the pan and add the sugar. Don't worry too much about the seasoning at this point, we will taste and add as needed later, and most of this is done at the table prior to eating according to personal tastes.

Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and set a timer for 45 minutes. You dont want the water going crazy at this point, just a gentle simmer, stir it roughly half way through cooking.

At the end of the 45 minutes the rice will have started to break down, using a plastic or wooden utensil just check that the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pan, as it starts to thicken up you need to watch out for this a little more regularly.

Set another timer for 15 minutes and during these 15 minutes cut up the chinese leaf...

I usually take three leaves from the outside, put them on top of one another and slice them medium thickness, or according to your own preference. Then chop up the coriander (cilantro)

Then finely slice the spring onions (scallions)

Put the coriander and spring onions in a bowl for later as they will be used at the table just prior to eating the Chao.

Then after the 15 minutes is up, take the chicken quarters out of the Chao and leave on a plate to one side to cool down a little.

Stir the Chao, and set a timer for the final 30 minutes of cooking, it should have a consistency like the photo below

Remember to pay a little more attention during this period in order to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once the chicken has cooled enough remove the skin and strip the meat from the bones into a small bowl.

then run through it with some scissors to shred it a little finer.

I like to put it in the fridge after this, it tends to solidify it a little and improve the texture when adding it to the Chao before eating.

This process will probably take you to the end of the cooking time for the Chao. So turn of the heat and give it a final stir.

Then add the Chinese leaf to the smaller saucepan.

Cover with a little water, this is really down to personal taste, I like my Chao a little thinner than the consistency that it is in the pan so I add an inch of water at this point to the chinese leaf. Experiment with your own preferences. Then spoon the Chao from the big pan onto the Chinese leaf, enough for two bowls, the little pan I use is perfect for making two large bowls.

Make sure that you get a good mix of mushrooms and ginger into the smaller pan, and leave some behind for future servings!

Then switch on the heat and bring to a very gentle simmer, just to heat through the Chinese leaf, about three to five minutes should do it, if you like your cabbage crunchy, cook it less. Have a little taste, you can also add a little Fish sauce, toasted sesame oil and pepper at this stage if you wish.

Bring the Chopped coriander, spring onions and chicken to the table, together with the fish sauce, toasted sesame oil and pepper. Divide the Chao into two bowls and serve.

Another lovely thing about Chao is the presentation and customization at the table. You now add your seasonings to your own taste. The fish sauce will make it saltier, the sesame oil adds a lovely toasted nutty flavour and the pepper adds a little heat. Don't go crazy, remember you can always add but never take away.

Add a quarter of the chicken per bowl, leaving plenty for the next two bowls of chao, add all of the coriander and spring onions to taste...

Then give it all a good stir and taste it, add extra fish sauce, pepper and sesame oil to your personal preferences and enjoy. It should look like the picture below and it should taste absolutely delicious, clean, subtle and hearty.

Chao makes an excellent starter for a dinner party also, if you are making it for lager numbers (say six) add an extra chicken quarter and just add the Chinese leaf and water into the main cooking pot at the end and cut more spring onions and coriander. It is a lovely interactive dish as a starter for a dinner party, everyone gets involved and its clean, fresh nature acts as an excellent opening to a larger meal, but be warned, it is a tough act to follow :)

As mentioned earlier I usually cook one batch of this every week and if we are just eating it among ourselves I usually make the last two bowls using smoked, peppered mackerel (one fillet per bowl) you will need hardly to add any additional fish sauce or pepper for this variation as it already comes with bags of salt and pepper flavor.

Another variation we enjoy is slow cooked pork shoulder with crispy, melt in the mouth crackling pieces to add to the textures, depending on how well this post is received I may post a recipe for making perfect pork shoulder and crackling to accompany this dish.

Keep the main pot in the fridge and just cut up the cabbage and spoon into the smaller pan adding a little water every time you want a bowl over the next three days.

I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I enjoyed producing it.

For Sausagio, the best friend anyone could ever ask for, hope you enjoy this too :)