I’m sick, so I made a chicken rice porridge type thing.

chicken rice!!

So first of all, if anyone knows how to fix a bad sore throat instantly, please let me know because I’m dying. Yes, I’ve tried the salt gargle. Yes, I drank plenty of tea. Yes, I’ve been to Columbia Health and no I don’t have strep. Something is going around because everyone I know is sick. I just made some form of chicken soup on Thursday but I’m doing it again because this time it’s with rice and not noodles, and also because I’m sick. This recipe was inspired by Cooking With Aisha and changed up a bit by me. It’s a super easy recipe for the ultimate comfort food.

Ingredients (for one serving): one chicken thigh (ideally boneless and skinless), 1/4 of a large yellow onion, 1/3 cup rice, one green onion, a generous amount of salt, pepper, and ground red pepper, a tiny bit of sesame oil (optional), lots of garlic

  1. Season your chicken thigh well with salt, pepper, and ground red pepper. You can honestly use whatever seasonings you want. Aisha uses all-purpose Greek seasoning, and I’ve made it with salt, pepper, paprika, and dijon mustard. Let it sit for a little bit.
  2. Put your chicken in a pot and fill it with enough water that your chicken thigh is just submerged. Add the garlic (3-4 cloves if you’re doing whole garlic, I used about a tablespoon of minced garlic) and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer on medium heat until your chicken is more or less cooked. While it cooks, skim off the nasty foam that rises to the top.
  3. While the chicken cooks, chop your onion. How finely you chop it depends on how much dedication you have to this meal and on your preference. Aisha also uses bell peppers, and you can do that too if you want. I didn’t include any because I didn’t have any bell peppers.
  4. Also while the chicken cooks, rinse your rice. Don’t do it on a strainer like that one Tasty video. The point of washing your rice here is to submerge it in water and swirl it around, letting the excess starch come out. I like using short-grain white rice, but long-grain white rice also works. Aisha uses Uncle Ben’s.
  5. When the chicken is sort of cooked, take it out and tear or cut it into bite-sized pieces. If your chicken has bone and skin, separate them from the flesh and throw them away.
  6. Put the chicken back in the stock with the onion and rice. Close the lid, and let simmer until the rice is cooked. If you want a more soup-y thing like in the picture above, you can add a little more water here too, depending on how much your stock has reduced. Add more seasoning if necessary.
  7. Chop the green onion, and add it to the pot. Careful not to cook the green onion more than a few seconds, or it will be overcooked. Add a little bit of sesame oil for flavor if you want.
  8. Enjoy!

Chicken soup with rice via Youngweon Lee