Evan Moses

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Rice Goo

Rice Goo (Thick Chicken & Rice Soup)

Serves 4, 35min

A very thick chicken and rice soup, but not cooked until the rice breaks down like congee. This is perfect for “you’re sick, have some soup”. Also infinitely variable: sub vegetables, change the seasoning, squeeze in a little lemon; leave out the chicken, add more chicken. If you’re in a hurry you can skip toasting the rice or even sautéing the vegetables. This is one point on an infinite manifold of chicken soup recipes.

If you put this in the fridge, the rice will continue to absorb liquid and get thicker. You may need to add a little stock or water when you reheat it.

Ingredients

  • 5 C chicken stock (see On Stock below)
  • 1 C long-grain rice, like jasmine
  • 2tsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 carrots (1 small, 1 large, or estimate), diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 scallion, white and green parts, diced fine
  • 1/4 tsp Guajillo chile (see On Chile below)
  • 1 breast or 2 thighs chicken, diced (raw or leftovers)
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add carrot and celery, season, and cook until softened, 2-3min. Add scallion and cook until wilted, another minute or two. Add rice and cook 3-4 minutes until slightly toasted. Add stock and bring to a boil.

Lower heat to medium-low, keeping the soup at a very low simmer, partially cover, and cook for 16 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken. If it’s pre-cooked, cook 2-3 minutes until warmed through. If raw, cook 6-7 minutes until cooked through.

On stock

Like every cookbook author, I’m gonna tell you that homemade stock is the best, because it really is. Make some stock if you can (I keep it in the freezer). If you don’t have any, your next-best bet is “enhanced” store-bought stock: boil the stock with some veggies (carrot, onion, celery, etc.) or veggie scraps for 20-30 min and strain it. It’s shocking how much better it is. Better than Bullion is, well, better than bullion, and it’s honestly better than a lot of the stocks you’ll buy at the store.

On Chile

This is not strictly necessary, but I think it adds a nice little bit of flavor. You can use basically any powdered chile you like, of any heat, including sweet or hot paprika, cayenne, or whatever you’ve got around. This is not chili powder, though, which has cumin and other spices.