Chicken Jook with Lots of Vegetables

Happy Food Matters Project Monday friends! This week’s recipe, Chicken Jook with Lots of Vegetables, chosen by Erin of The Goodness Life, is a childhood favorite of mine. Of course in our Cebuano vernacular, it doesn’t sound this fancy, it is merely lugaw or at restaurants, the more appropriate Chinese name, congee. This rice porridge dish always warmed my belly and warranted seconds and thirds. You would think that growing up in hot and humid Philippines, soups aren’t a hit, but they are, especially this. The aroma of lugaw cooking in my mom’s kitchen was one of the best smells ever and I didn’t realize how much I have missed it until now.  For the longest time, I never thought to recreate my mom’s lugaw. How did I ever forget about it? Thank you Erin for taking me back home!

I followed Mark Bittman’s original recipe closely with a few minor changes:

- I used one chicken thigh instead of three
- I used 1 and ½ cups homemade chicken stock along with 4 and ½ cups of water to cook the rice
- I used three cups of bok choy, instead of just two cups of cabbage

Mosey on over to Erin’s blog for the original recipe and make sure to check out what the other FMP members came up with!  

This rice porridge is heart-warmingly delicious! The ginger really gives it a good warmth and the gravy-like broth is so full of all the flavors that everyone loves in Asian food. Each bite is a delightful mixture of thick broth, chewy rice, and crunchy vegetables.

I made this rice porridge on Saturday night before DFJ and I went on a winter adventure (more on that later). Whenever I started forgetting about how much fun we were having as we plodded and skied in the cold for the past two days, I daydreamed about this. DFJ and I just got home an hour ago and we shared a warm bowl of goodness. Doing my FMP homework before leaving town was the best idea ever!

 Have a great week everyone!