khao tom (ข้าวต้ม) with poached chicken

For lunch today I cooked porridge. I think the kids are a bit tired of Century Egg and Pork porridge, which is the only porridge my helper can cook.

Since I had chicken drumsticks, I thought I would try this recipe for Khao Tom with poached chicken that I found online a while ago.

It is a really interesting recipe, for me at least, because I am interested in Thai food, and I want to learn to cook more Thai food.

I started by poaching the drumsticks in a pot of chicken stock for 20 minutes, then turning off the heat, and letting the chicken steep in the stock for 15 minutes. I then removed the chicken from the pot and placed them in iced water for 15 minutes, before deboning the drumsticks and shredding the meat into bite-sized pieces.

I grated some ginger, and mixed it with chopped spring onion, salt and canola oil.

This was then mixed with the shredded chicken and set aside.

The stock was brought to boil again, and the cooked rice was added. I simmered the rice for about 5 minutes. You can simmer it for a shorter or longer period of time, depending on how broken down you like the rice to be. I added fish sauce, grounded white pepper and some sugar.

I cracked an egg into each bowl, then ladled the hot porridge over the egg. The egg would be cooked by the heat from the porridge.

The chicken was placed on the porridge, and I garnished it with coriander leaves, fried shallots and it was served with sliced chilli and soy sauce.

RECIPE
Khao Tom With Poached Chicken (Serves 3)
Adapted from recipe by To Food With Love

Ingredients:
3 cups cooked rice
1 litre reduced-salt chicken stock
1 cup water
3-4 chicken drumsticks
Dash of fish sauce
Sugar
Pepper
3 eggs, room temperature

Garnish:
4 bird's eye chillies, sliced, mixed with 2 tbsp fish sauce and 2-3 drops lime juice (I did not have lime, so did not add this)
Fried shallots
Coriander leaves

Ginger Scallion Sauce (combine in a bowl):
2 stalks scallion, chopped
2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 1/2 tbsp canola oil

Method:
Bring the stock and water to a boil in a medium pot and add the drumsticks, making sure they are submerged. Bring to a boil again and let it simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Put the lid on and turn off the heat, and let it steep in the stock for 15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare a large bowl of iced water.

After the 15 minutes is up, remove the chicken from the stock and submerge them in the iced water for 15 minutes (and no longer than that). Remove and drain any excess water. Debone the chicken and roughly tear into bite sized pieces. Place in a bowl and sprinkle over with ginger and scallion sauce.

Bring the stock to a boil again and add the rice. Let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes until it reaches the desired texture (depending on how you like it). Season with pepper, a little fish sauce and a pinch of sugar to taste. In the meantime, prepare 3 serving bowls and crack an egg into each one.

Once the rice is done, and it should be boiling hot, ladle the rice soup over the eggs and let it sit for a minute or so to cook the eggs. Then, garnish with the shredded chicken, coriander leaves, fried shallots and serve with sliced chillies.

Note: You can also serve the poached chicken with plain rice. Just rub some soy sauce and sesame oil all over the chicken for added flavour, and serve with Ginger Scallion sauce.