Chicken and Mushroom Juk With Scallion Sauce Recipe (2024)

If you automatically rinse your rice, don't. The starch gives this dish its body. Don't skimp on the ginger either.Can be adapted for leftover Thanksgiving turkey, too.

Yes, you’re the only one. And you may think you’re being cute, but it’s quite clear what you’re doing.Looking forward to trying this recipe and grateful for the actually helpful reviews and comments. I agree that I would add a step to skim off the fat.

Congee is Chinese comfort food! Might be an acquired taste? I have perfected an Instant Pot version that is very easy and good: using the carcass of a rotisserie chicken, 1 dried scallop, 1 1/2 cups rinsed rice, ginger slices, 4 cups chicken broth, 4 cups water. Done in 46 mins, slow release, remove all the bones, etc. Salt to taste.

Here's a great tip for all congee/juk recipes: at least a day before you plan to make it, rinse and drain the rice, and put it, still wet, in a freezer bag and freeze it overnight. It breaks down the structure of the rice and cuts cooking time to about 20 minutes, no Instant Pot or slow cooker necessary. I do this in large batches and keep the rice in the freezer for whenever I decide to make some.

I had just finished typing up my grandmother's foo jook congee recipe (basically this but with dried bean curd sheets) over the weekend! We use dried shiitakes (resoaked and destemmed) instead of the white mushrooms - much meatier and flavorful!

I'm a little confused about the comments about the recipe being bland. In step 6, the author directs cooks to drizzle with sauce and serve with soy sauce and chile oil or hot sauce. If it tastes bland - use the proscribed soy sauce and chile oil. If it still tastes bland, use more. If it still tastes bland, perhaps there's a health issue.

I'm curious how you used, salt/pepper, fresh ginger, garlic, chili oil and soy sauce and got a bland dish.

I've made this recipe. It is supposed to be bland- it's for someone with a digestive issue. And it's not all that bland. (with 5 garlic cloves, how could it be?) Yes, it should have some salt (to taste) and if you have to, add just a smidge of chili oil. It's rice gruel with a little chicken added for the protein. Not exactly hot & sour soup.

I have made this five times during this agonizing pandemic, always with the same two tweaks to the recipe: 1) poached the chicken in chicken stock instead of water (kept the poaching liquid otherwise the same) - for a double stock which really steps up the flavor. I also steep a length of kombu in the poaching liquid for 20-30 minutes for a little extra Asian flavor (as well as iodine). Wonderful Comfort Food, as the author clearly intended. Not designed to wow us with exciting flavors.

What the recipe is missing is the critical fermented side dishes (pickles, kimchi, radish Kimchee). Juk/congee is usually a bland dish. Often morning food. It’s all about adding the salt/acidity after. I suppose it’s an acquired taste like any other kind of porridge as well.

This recipe arrived just in time for me. I must say, juk/congee is probably an acquired taste, but I LOVE it. What’s not to like about a carb based soup? Made mine with the last of the Thanksgiving turkey stock, jasmine rice, and salt and minced ginger. Period. I was sick as a dog and this was what I needed. Still partaking two days later, even though the COVID and flu tests were negative, and I’m on an antibiotic for a bacterial infection. Am on the mend. Thanks to juk.

If you are not fond of the flavor of chicken fat, an extra step may be required in the stock preparation (cool the covered pot in the fridge or, if making in winter, outdoors on your balcony) until the fat has solidified, then skim it from the top.

This is the worst recipe I have made in 26 years. I followed it, I used quality ingredients. It was so bland and the consistency was awful. I threw it away and had frozen pizza. Ugh.

I have made congee with short grain brown rice and I really liked it. It must cook a long time, much longer than for white rice, for it to get mushy and it still retains a little more texture. I usually have made congee in a slow cooker, low and slow, though you can do it more quickly in a pressure cooker (instant pot). A comment on this recipe not having made it. I would expect to have to cook the white rice for longer than 30 minutes to get a congee like texture.

to each their own, of course - @Helene why must rice mush be sweet? oatmeal and grits are just oat and corn mush and neither of those are sweet. as for the recipe, it's combining making chicken broth with juk. Note this becomes an easy recipe when you have broth and leftover meat and veggies on hand.

This is really great with Thai fish sauce (nam pla) added as a seasoning on the table . I prefer that to soy sauce. And it’s authentic, too….this type of Juk exists in Thai cuisine and is called khao tom. (Boiled rice)

A ton of garlic and fresh ginger. Hard to understand how even before adding the sauce it could be bland. But if you keep frozen pizza on hand we live in different food worlds.

Made exactly as written, remembering congee I had in Shanghai. Delicious. Next time I'll use homemade chicken stock in place of the water. Yes, I added salt at the end. Served to a friend who loved it and wanted the recipe.

I've made this several times now and it has become a favorite! I do like to add a little salt both to the broth and again while simmering the rice. I'm personally not fond of the flavor of soy sauce in this dish. I've made congee/juk in the instant pot, but no more! The texture is so much better when cooked on the stove top. Yes, there is a bit of labor in this dish and it can be tempting to shortcut it, but this labor of love is so worth it! What else do you have to do on a wintery Sunday?

The best congee/juk I've had! Really great flavor, I made double the scallion-ginger sauce and I'm glad since it really made the dish. Also, don't toss the chicken skin- pan fry it and serve as a crispy topping!

I love this recipe. Only criticism is that it takes a really long time, and is a lot of work for the end result. To remedy this, I make 2-3x the recipe so I can have leftovers throughout the week. It’s hard to get sick of it when you can make it different each time you have it! Sometimes shoyu and katsuoboshi on top, other times chili oil and the scallion sauce, and other times everything.

Yes, you should automatically rinse white rice. You wash your rice for the same reason you wash your fruit. But no, you should not be draining your rice after cooking. You should only put enough water in for the rice to absorb the water to cook and add more if necessary, but you don't want excess water.

It's like a hug in soup-form.

Is medium grain rice ok to use?

I’m going with 5 stars here. Flavours are exquisite. Use good ingredients. It’s makes quite a big pot, leftovers even better. You can leave the spinach out if that’s not your thing. I didn’t use soy sauce or chilli oil. The ginger scallion oil is perfect and sufficient.

Delicious!

This was delicious and welcome on a cold, raw day. I used the recipe as a template, using some leftover rotisserie chicken and long grain rice ( didn't have short grain on hand.) A stick blender came in handy as the long grain doesn't break down as easily as SG. I suspect that there are almost as many recipes for this as there are Korean grandmothers....

I grew up with this comfort food - my son loves it when I make it with century eggs. Traditional jook does not contain carrot, spinach, or mushroom. Btw I save bones and mushroom stems to make a rich broth that I use to make jook.

To anyone who thinks this is bland, I highly recommend you order a variation of it in a restaurant a few times (in dim sum shops appears as congee) or ask a friend to make it for you to understand the dish. It’s the East Asian equivalent of buttered toast with the comfort quotient of mac n cheese for me and in fact, I have never eaten one with as many condiments as this. Each is a nice touch. Made it in my instant pot. A breakfast classic.

Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out perfect. I will definitely make again and maybe play around with it a bit next time. Turkey would be excellent but maybe even shrimp? It is a perfect winters dish when you have an ice storm and crave warmth.