One Los Alamos is sharing recipes during Diversity Week. Pictured is Instant Pot Chicken Congee from the kitchen of KokHeong McNaughton, an Asian American who was born and raised in Malaysia and became a naturalized US citizen. She has lived in Los Alamos for more than 45 years. Currently, she is retired,with her immediate family around her and living in the same neighborhood within walking distance from one another. KokHeong enjoys gardening and cooking, and has been teaching Taiji and Qigong in Los Alamos for many years. Courtesy photo

Chicken Congee – Instant Pot Meal

“Chicken Congee is the Chinese version of Chicken Soup for the Soul. It is easy to digest, and is therefore especially good for anyone recovering from an illness, or just simply gifted to friends as a caring gesture. When I visited my family in Malaysia, I found out that the McDonald’s offered Chicken Congee as one of the items in their menu. It is a standard item in DimSum restaurants. People eat this as breakfast, lunch, dinner, or just a mid-afternoon snack. Variation on this theme includes substituting the chicken with pork, or dried fish as the meat. ” – KokHeong

Ingredients:

1 cup rice (any kind would work)
8 cups water
Boneless chicken breasts of thighs (amount depends on how much meat you want in your porridge)
Seasoning (salt, pepper, chicken bouillion to taste)

Put all the ingredients in your instant pot and use the porridge function. Slow release.

To serve:

You can choose any or all of these below as condiments

Dash of sesame seed oil
Dash of soy sauce to taste
Chopped green onions
Pickled radishes, pickled jalapeños, or any kind of pickles (finely shredded)
Chinese donuts (available in the frozen food section of Smith’s)
Fermented tofu cubes (available in the Asian food sectoon of Smith’s)
Sriracha sauce
Hot chili sauce
Salted duck eggs
Thousand year old eggs