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Instant Pot Chicken Congee Recipe (Jook)

Jook or congee, the ultimate comfort food, when its cold outside, when you have a cold, anytime.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Asian, Asian-American
Calories: 140kcal

Ingredients

For the Soup:

  • 1 cup long grain Jasmine rice honestly you can use any kind of rice, long, medium or short grain
  • 1.5 Tsp vegetable oil
  • 3 Slices thinly sliced fresh ginger size of quarters
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3-4 skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs or 2 whole chicken legs, can also add pork such as pork butt 2-3 2 inch pieces
  • 8 to 10 cups water, fill to the 10-cup mark on your IP or use stock and water 1:1
  • 1/8 cup rice wine
  • 1 tbsp Better Than Bouillon (optional) Skip if you are starting with stock

At the Finish Line

  • 2 tsp sesame oil toasted, Asian sesame oil
  • 1/3-1/2 cup scallions-sliced on the bias garnish
  • 1/8 Cup finely shredded fresh ginger garnish
  • Salt and pepper to taste preferably white pepper

Instructions

  • Wash rice. Add the rice to a bowl, and add enough water to cover the rice. Swirl the rice around. Drain and repeat a few times until the water is clear. Let drain and dry.
  • Turn on Instant Pot with Saute function.  When hot, add 1 -1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil and ginger.  Saute for 30 seconds, add rice and 1 teaspoon salt.  Stir to coat rice with oil approximately 1 minute.
  • Add chicken pieces, bouillon, and rice wine to the pot . **If you are in a rush or feeling lazy, skip sauteing the rice and ginger.  Just throw them into the pot, fill with enough water until it reaches the 10 cup mark in the Instant Pot.
  • Turn off saute, close the lid and make sure the knob is on "Sealing". Choose the "Porridge" button and set the time to 20 minutes.
  • While congee is cooking, shred ginger and slice scallions and place in small bowls for serving.
  • When the time is up on the timer, turn the Instant Pot off. Wait 15 minutes natural release before turning the knob from 'Sealing' to 'Venting'. Rice soup tends to splatter a lot, do not do a quick release.
  • Remove the chicken from the pot, when it is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard the bones. If the jook seems thin, turn saute' function on (without the lid on) and cook until desired consistency.  If it is too thick, add water or broth.
  • Add the chicken back into the congee or put it in a bowl and let folks add at the table. Taste, add salt if necessary.
  • Ladle into bowls and top with desired amount of ginger, white pepper, sesame oil and scallions. Let folks add their own.

Toppings and Fixins'

  • My Dad's Jook calls for potatoes, I love them in my soup. Any kind of potato will work, peeled and quartered for large potatoes. Add at the same time as the chicken when making the soup.
  • For meatballs, follow instructions under Dad's Jook. This can be added at the end after pressure cooking.  Remove lid and press saute function.  When the rice soup comes to a boil, add meatballs and cook until done 2-3 minutes.
  • Additional toppings include cilantro leaves, fried garlic slivers, shredded fresh ginger, salted peanuts, shredded lettuce (iceberg works well)...the list goes on. Anything you eat with rice can be added.  NO Rules!