Chicken Jook Recipe

Chicken Jook Recipe

  • 1 bunch scallions
  • 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
  • 12 fresh cilantro sprigs
  • 1 (2 1/2- to 3-lb) whole chicken
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 qt cold water
  • 1/4 cup dried scallops (about 10)
  • 3/4 cup long-grain rice
  • 1/4 cup Chinese (short-grain) sticky rice (also called glutinous)
  • Special equipment: a small square of cheesecloth; kitchen string
  • Accompaniments: soy-sauce-pickled cucumbers; pickled mustard greens; thousand-year-old eggs, shelled and cut into wedges; smoked tofu, cut into slices
  • Garnish: fresh cilantro leaves
  1. Cut off scallion greens and reserve greens separately from white and pale green parts. Cut ginger in half crosswise and smash 1 piece with flat side of a large heavy knife, reserving remaining piece. Wrap smashed piece of ginger, cilantro, and white and pale green parts of scallion in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with string.
  2. Rinse chicken inside and out and put in a 4-to 6-quart heavy pot along with cheesecloth bundle, salt, and water, then bring to a simmer, covered. Cook, covered, 15 minutes.
  3. Turn off heat and measure out and reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, then cover pot again. Pour reserved liquid into a small bowl and add dried scallops. (Scallops should be completely submerged.) Soak until softened, about 30 minutes.
  4. While scallops are soaking, let chicken stand in cooking liquid, covered, 30 minutes. (Chicken will be cooked through.) Carefully remove chicken from liquid with tongs, then transfer chicken to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil. Discard cheesecloth bundle from cooking liquid, reserving liquid.
  5. Rinse long-grain and Chinese sticky rice briefly in a sieve, then add to pot with chicken-cooking liquid.
  6. Shred scallops into fine threads with a fork or your fingers, discarding tough muscle from side of each scallop if attached. Add scallop threads and scallop-soaking liquid to rice mixture and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until jook is very thick, about 1 hour.
  7. While rice is simmering, discard skin from chicken and remove meat in large pieces, then cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces.
  8. Cut reserved ginger into thin matchsticks and chop reserved scallion greens.
  9. Divide chicken among 6 serving bowls, then ladle jook over chicken. Sprinkle ginger and scallions over jook and serve with accompaniments.
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