If I Can't Do It Chinese Style, Perhaps Thai Style?

As a kid my mom always made me rice porridge (usually with pork or abalone) whenever I was sick, so in my mind rice porridge is the ultimate comfort food. In college, I was living in apartment with a kitchen and I got really sick. My mommy was too far away to make me rice porridge, so I called her and wa-wa-wa-ed to my mom that poor little me, I'm sick and my mommy is too far away to make me rice porridge....She promised that it was really easy to make, fill the pot she had given me with water + 1 handful of uncooked rice, boil and wa-la: rice porridge. That 1 little handful of rice looked so lonely....so I added another handful, but then that was too much rice so i needed a bigger pot and more water, and 4 hours and 3 pots later I  had a gigantamongous pot of partially cooked, partially uncooked rice goop that I chucked in the trash.
Yes....that was the ULTIMATE FAIL. I tried making rice porridge one other time with almost similar disastrous results. I have given up on making Chinese rice porridge.

Two weekends ago, I was sick.....and really wanted some rice porridge....and I remembered this Thai style rice porridge that a co-worker made and gave me a recipe for.....I thought well, if I cant make it Chinese style, perhaps I'll be more successful w/ the Thai style rice porridge.....boy did it turn out delicious!


Recipe:

Thai Jasmine-scented rice (other types or rice will work too. I used brown rice)
1/2 tsp salt
1-3 tbsp fish sauce
1-3 tbsp soy sauce
2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin slices
1/2 onion
1 tbsp white pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

  

1. Steam about 2-3 cups of rice in a rice cooker (or however you make rice. I use the rice cooker because it was the easiest way to do it) 
2. Make chicken broth/soup by boiling chicken bones in water (or you can just use chicken broth or if you want you can do a vegetarian style by adding a bunch of veggies to it--onions, cabbage, turnip, etc.)
3. Add the onions, and the fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, and white pepper to taste
4. Add the chicken to the broth and cook for about 15 minutes (you can marinate the chicken for about 30 min or overnight with some salt, pepper, soy, sesame oil, garlic)
5. Add the rice and bring to a simmer and let cook for about 3-5 minutes. 
6. Serve with chopped green onion, cilantro, and fried garlic on top

 Not sure why, but lately I have totally been loving adding lettuce to soupy things and letting the hot soup cook it just a little so that its still crunchy but sweeter and more flavorful than raw lettuce. So I added it to the bottom of the bowl prior to adding the rice soup.

The rice porridge soup with the fried garlic on top (I bought this fried garlic for this rice soup. man it added great flavor!)  

Thai-style rice porridge (or rice soup) was a huge success! Ive had 3 meals of it and I'm not sick of it yet! 

Keep an eye out for several more posts, and as always stay consumed! :)