Instant Pot Congee, an Asian comfort food, rice porridge recipe that can be made quickly using a pressure cooker. It’s the perfect rice dish to warm up your winter or when you’re under the weather and stuck in bed. Many people enjoy congee as a daily breakfast, too.
If you are looking for instant pot recipes. Try this easy Instant Pot Congee 粥 with chicken. Congee is a porridge made of rice. It’s a savory rice broth that is commonly eaten as a breakfast dish or cereal and is relatively low in calories.
Plain congee is also gluten-free and good for digestion, especially when you are sick.
This easy rice dish recipe is very easy to make and it’s also a budget-friendly recipe. Congee is not very nutritionally rich, so be sure to add healthy protein and vegetables to boost its nutritional value.
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How Do You Make Congee with Instant Pot
Making congee is pretty easy and requires very few ingredients. It can however take more than an hour to make the rice consistency like oatmeal.
For this reason, it’s great to use Instant pot to make congee as it’s much faster and the result is really quite similar. Cooking congee in an instant pot will only take about 20 minutes of cooking time!
Step 1. Rinse the rice
Step 2. Parboil the Chicken
Cook chicken drumstick in boiling water just until the foam rises to the top for about 5-7 minutes. Rinse the chicken, discard any liquid and clean the pot.
Step 3. Cook at High Pressure
Cook garlic just until fragrant. Add chicken, broth, rice, and ginger. Set it to manual and cook for 20 minutes. When the cooking is done, let the pressure release naturally.
Step 4. Shred the chicken
Remove the cooked chicken from the pot then shred. Set aside.
What to Serve with Congee:
The fun part of eating congee is that you can customize your own toppings.
Some great options for toppings are:
- hard-boiled eggs
- preserved duck eggs
- chopped green onions
- shredded chicken
- fish fillets
- ground pork
- ground beef
- roasted peanuts
- pickled veggies
- crispy fried or baked shallots, and much more.
How Much Water and Rice Ratio for Perfect Congee
There is no specific ratio of rice to liquid when making Chinese porridge or congee.
If you want thicker congee, the rice-to-liquid ratio is 1:6, and for medium thickness, the rice-to-liquid ratio is 1:7.
I personally love a more watery consistency, so I actually stretch the rice-to-liquid ratio to 1:8.
If you are not so sure, you can start with a 1:7 ratio then add more liquid and extend the simmering stage for a longer period of time (until you reach a texture that you like).
What kind of rice is used for congee?
You can use short or long white rice or brown rice. I prefer to use long white rice such as Thai Jasmine rice. You can also use leftover rice.
Can You Store Congee in a Fridge?
Plain congee can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just be sure to reheat it on a stove and keep stirring until it reaches the perfect consistency.
I hope you'll enjoy this recipe and share it with friends! If you try it and don’t mind, please leave me a comment and/or give this recipe a rating. Be sure to subscribe to receive weekly recipes and follow me on Pinterest.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Congee
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice, (rinse and drain)
- 8 cups water, (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 3 garlic, minced
- 5-6 pieces of chicken, drumsticks
- 1- inch ginger, (peeled and sliced)
- ½ tbsp salt , (add more according to your liking)
Recommended Toppings:
- fried shallots
- green onion, (chopped)
- fresh cilantro leaves
- shredded chicken
- Original Tianjin Preserved Vegetable Salted Cabbage
- chili oil
- sesame oil
- ground white pepper
- soy sauce
Instructions
- For cleaner broth. In a medium-size pot (or an instant pot), boil 5 cups of water over high heat. Cook chicken just until the foam rises to the top for 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot, rinse and discard any liquid.
- Set the instant pot to “saute” setting. When it's hot, add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the garlic just until fragrant for 15 seconds.
- Add chicken, 8 cups of water, rinsed rice and ginger. Close the lid. Set the instant pot to "Manual" setting for 20 minutes. When it’s done, let the pressure release naturally.
- Using tongs, remove the chicken and transfer to a cutting board. Use forks to shred the meat into small pieces and remove the bones.
- Set the instant pot to the “saute” setting. Stir until the congee thickens to the desired consistency. Season with salt as needed.
- Remove congee from the instant pot and serve with shredded chicken, green onions, and other toppings of your choice.
Nart at Cooking with Nart says
I tried this recipe and it was delicious and easy to prepare. It's the perfect breakfast anyone will love!
Rhonda Albom says
I've always thought of this as a great breakfast to make with leftover rice. I never thought to use an instant pot and make it from scratch.
Mirlene says
This is such an interesting meal. I have never tried this before and I am very much eager to try it. Thanks for the recipe idea!
Rika Livingston says
It's similar to rice soup, try it out 🙂
Charla says
Sounds delicious and reminds me of a savoury version of Jamaican rice porridge.
Rika Livingston says
I may need to try the Jamaican rice porridge! It sounds delicious too!
Alexandra says
I am always looking for new and creative ways to use my instant pot. As someone who only recently purchased one, I was pleased to come across this delicious recipe. It is a favourite of my Mum's also, and I am looking forward to making it for her soon.
Tim Homan says
awesome i used cauliflower rice and left over bbq boneless pork added some xanthum gum for thickener worked really well
Rika says
Hi Tim,
Thanks for sharing your feedback! Also, thanks for sharing what you did! Cauliflower rice congee sounds delicious and healthy! I'll have to try making it next time!
Best,
Rika