Complete free recipe

Simmered Chicken and Egg over Soft Rice

Chicken simmered in a sweet-savoury broth with onion and set with beaten egg poured over the top, spooned onto rice cooked deliberately soft.

Simmered Chicken and Egg over Soft Rice. Chicken simmered in a sweet-savoury broth with onion and set with beaten egg poured over the top, spooned onto rice cooked deliberately soft.
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Prep 15 minCook 30 minServes 4

Ingredients

Why metric?

Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements

  • 500 g chicken breast, sliced thin and chopped small
  • 5 eggs (255 g)
  • 340 g white rice (dry)
  • 780 ml water, for the rice (780 g)
  • 250 ml reduced-salt chicken stock (250 g)
  • 20 g reduced-salt soy sauce
  • 18 g caster sugar
  • 120 g onion, sliced very thin
  • 10 g fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 24 g neutral oil
  • 10 g sesame oil
  • 10 g chives, finely snipped

Method

  1. Put the rice on with the water and a lid, more water than the packet asks for. Simmer 18-20 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat for 10 minutes. It should be soft enough that the grains slump together when you spoon it.
  2. Slice the chicken thinly across the grain, then chop the slices into pieces about the size of a thumbnail. Across the grain matters: it shortens the muscle fibres before cooking rather than leaving them for later.
  3. Warm the neutral oil in a wide, shallow pan and soften the onion over low heat 8 minutes, until it is completely limp and sweet.
  4. Add the stock, the soy sauce, the sugar and the ginger, bring to a simmer, then add the chicken in one layer. Cook 8 minutes at a bare simmer, turning once. Simmering rather than frying is what keeps it tender enough to break apart with a spoon.
  5. Beat the eggs loosely, so there are still streaks of white and yolk rather than a uniform yellow. Pour them over the surface in a spiral, cover the pan and cook 2-3 minutes until they are just set and still glossy, then take it off the heat.
  6. Stir the sesame oil through the rice, divide it between four bowls and spoon the chicken, egg and plenty of the broth over. Scatter the chives on top.

Safety and storage

Cook to
74°C / 165°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 60°C

The table gives poultry cuts as 74°C. Minced poultry is taken to the same temperature rather than the 71°C mince figure, because mincing spreads surface bacteria through the whole mass. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.

Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool and cover within two hours, split large amounts into shallow containers, and reheat until steaming hot, at least 60°C.

Where these temperatures come from