Life is Great

One week into 2008 and I caught the bug. Much as I'd like to go to work what with tonnes to do and a project to finish, I was too weak and have been losing sleep after trying to self-medicate since Friday.



Chicken porridge therefore became the first dish I cooked for the year. I always lean towards porridge when I'm sick. It's light, therapeutic and if cooked the right way can be tasty enough to improve an appetite diminished by all that drugs.

Chicken Porridge
Serves 2 to 4

• 1 cup rice


• 4 dry shiitake mushrooms (soaked and sliced thinly)


• 8 to 10 cups chicken soup


• chicken meat from cooking soup


• salt and pepper to taste


• sesame oil

Rinse rice and put in rice cooker pot with chicken, mushrooms and stock. Cover and cook for 45 minutes to one hour depending on preferred consistency. Turn off cooker and serve warm.

Porridge cooked with a slow cooker is better but the rice cooker (even a basic one like what we have, without any fuzzy logic whatsoever) does the job and takes less time. Just make sure to turn if off when you're satisfied with the thickness as the "Keep Warm" option will dry the porridge more.

If not cooking for the sick, do add some ginger, fried shallots and spring onion for more flavor. Breakfast porridge calls for some char kway (also called you tiao). In case you don't have that much chicken stock (recipe here), substitute the rest with water. If using fresh chicken meat, lightly marinate it and give it a short stir fry before cooking it with the rice.