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This instant pot chicken congee is an excellent any day, any time comfort food, especially for one of those endless cold winter days or sick days. It is so easy on the tummy and gives such a wonderful soothing feeling, that you will always end up craving for more !
Congee is basically a thick rice porridge where rice is cooked with large amounts of water/broth and with additions like protein and preferred flavorings on a low flame until it softens significantly. The name congee originates from the Tamil word 'Kanji'. Many countries in Asia have their own name for it and their own way of preparing congee. In some countries it is eaten as a breakfast dish where as in some other countries it is eaten like a proper meal( lunch or dinner) by itself.
It is originally said to have started as a way to stretch the rice supply to feed more people in times of famine. For whatever reason it initially started, in my opinion it is an excellent any day, any time comfort food. The best thing about this recipe is cooking in instant pot which makes it one of the easiest recipes ever.
Reasons to love this Instant pot chicken congee
- Needs only 5 ingredients.
- Ridiculously easy to cook in instant pot
- Takes at max 5 mins of your active prep time.
- Set and forget and delicious congee will be ready in an hour.
- Ultimate comfort food for cold days
- Very soothing for sick people
- Excellent for kids especially babies as it is very soft, nourishing and easily digestible.
Ingredients
As I mentioned above all you need are 5 ingredients - chicken, ginger, jasmine rice, salt and broth. If you consider water as an ingredient then 6🙂. Green onions are optional. I used the chicken bouillon powder mixed in water here for the broth, you can use any kind of broth you want. I gotta say those ginger pieces taste excellent after cooking ( they won't have that strong gingery flavor anymore, but only mild ginger flavor). But if you are really not a fan of ginger, then you can take those out before eating.
How to Make this recipe?
There are only 3 steps to make this instant pot rice and chicken porridge:
- Prep : Wash the rice thoroughly, remove the skin and slice the ginger, wash the chicken and remove the skin if you want and keep it ready. Keep the broth ready.
- Dump and cook : Now dump the ginger slices, chicken pieces, rice, water+broth and salt in the instant pot inner pot and cook on manual mode for 25 mins on high pressure. Let the steam release naturally for at least 15 mins and then release the rest of the pressure manually by turning the knob to vent. Mix everything well and remove the chicken bones from the pot to discard. Chicken will be falling of the bones so yo don't need to shred it separately again.
- Garnish and enjoy : Serve it in a bowl with your favorite condiments and enjoy !
Why cook in instant pot ?
Cooking Congee in instant pot makes the whole process extremely easy. Traditionally when it is cooked on a stove top it needs constant attention for around one to one and half hour for frequent stirring. This is a dump and go recipe that we are using and it makes our lives so easy.
Variations
You can use any other protein in place of chicken like seafood. I didn't try it yet but I heard that it is very tasty when cooked with dried seafood. If you are a vegetarian or vegan, then try it with mushrooms (shiitake mushrooms are good ) instead of chicken.
What can I serve this chicken congee with?
It is served with different things in different regions. Most popular choices are:
- Scallions ( green onions )
- chili oil ( my family's favorite)
- toasted sesame oil
- soy sauce
- ground white pepper
- cilantro leaves
- fried onions
- crispy fried garlic
- roasted salted peanuts
The choices are endless. I would say experiment and find your own favorite.
Scaling the recipe
This IP chicken congee is made using a 8 qt instant pot. If you are cooking in a 6 qt or 3 qt then definitely scale the recipe to half or quarter accordingly. The contents before cooking should never cross the max fill line in any instant pot.
Step by step video
Let's go make this super easy chicken congee right away. I promise all you need is 5 mins to set it up for cooking and go watch your favorite show. Come back after one hour to sit down with a delicious bowl of chicken congee!
Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Congee (Rice Porridge)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken I use drumsticks or bone-in thighs for more flavor
- 1 oz Ginger about big thumb size ginger piece sliced into pieces
- 2 cups Jasmine rice
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 7 cups water
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 2 big stalks green onions optional
Condiments suggestions:
- Scallions green onions
- chili oil my family's favorite
- toasted sesame oil
- soy sauce
- ground white pepper
- cilantro leaves
- fried onions
- crispy fried garlic
- roasted salted peanuts
Instructions
Prep
- Wash the rice thoroughly.
- Remove the skin and slice the ginger into thin discs or strips.
- Slice the green onions and separate the green parts and white parts.Keep the green parts for garnishing.
- Wash the chicken and remove the skin if you prefer.
- Measure the water and broth and keep them ready.
Cook
- Now dump the ginger slices, chicken pieces, white parts of green onions, rice, water+broth and salt in the instant pot inner pot, close the instant pot lid, close the vent by moving it to seal position and cook on manual mode for 25 mins on high pressure.( Press manual, press - or + buttons to adjust the time, press pressure level button to adjust the pressure to high and then press on manual again to start).
- It will take around one hour for the instant pot to build pressure (displays ON) and cook(displays minutes countdown from 25 to 1) and then finally switch to off mode. Once it is in off mode let the steam release naturally for at least 15 mins and then release the rest of the pressure manually by turning the knob to vent. Now open the instant pot lid. It will look watery at the first look but don't worry it will thicken with in few minutes as you stir.
- Mix everything well and remove the chicken bones from the pot to discard. Chicken will be falling of the bones so yo don't need to shred it separately again.Just stir everything together really well and that will separate any chicken from the bones easily.
Garnish and enjoy
- Serve it in a bowl with your favorite condiments and enjoy! Some suggestions for condiments are scallions (green onions), chili oil (my family's favorite, Chiu chow style chili oil by Lee Kum Kee brand is our favorite), ground white pepper, sesame oil, cilantro leaves, fried onions, crispy fried garlic.
Notes
- Don't put too much salt before cooking as we are also using broth while cooking. You can always add more salt after cooking
- Since it is a porridge, wait for at least 10 ideally 15 mins to do a manual release of pressure.
- If you want, you can switch on the saute mode for couple mins after you open the lid and mix everything well, to thicken the congee more but my guess is you won't need it.
- This congee is slightly on the thicker side. If you want more runny congee, add 1 cup water+1 cup broth additionally to the recipe before cooking.
Don't forget to leave me a comment below to let me know your favorite toppings for congee :-). Want to try out more Instant pot recipes, check this Instant pot creamy tomato cashew pasta or 4 ingredient creamy Instant pot banana Steel cut oats
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