Cosy Chicken Congee : Food Jar Recipe

Cosy Chicken Congee (The Sneaky Rainy-Day Winner)

If you haven't tried congee for the lunchbox yet, this might just become your new secret weapon. It's basically a savoury rice porridge. Warm, mild and gentle, which makes it a brilliant one for the fussy eaters who turn their noses up at "bitsy" soups. And it stays beautifully hot in a food jar until the lunch bell.

You'll need:

• ½ cup rice (short or long grain, whatever's in the pantry)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 3 cups water
• ½ cup chicken, cut into little bite-sized pieces
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• A thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled
• ¼ tsp salt

Toppings (mix and match to suit your crew):

• Sliced spring onions
• Crispy fried shallots (the sneaky flavour bomb, most kids love these)
• A little cracked pepper
• A squeeze of lime for the adventurous ones
• And if you're making a grown-up jar for yourself, a spoonful of chilli sauce takes it to the next level

Here's how:

1. Give the rice a good rinse in a sieve and shake off the extra water.
2. Pop the rice, stock, water, chicken, garlic, ginger and salt into your rice cooker and give it a stir.
3. Press the porridge setting and let it work its magic. No porridge setting? No worries. Set it to cook with the lid off for about 45 to 50 minutes (lid on without the porridge setting can boil over, and nobody needs that mess on a school morning).
4. No rice cooker at all? Simmer it gently on the stovetop in a big pot, lid slightly ajar, stirring now and then, for around 45 minutes until it's thick and creamy.
5. Fish out the ginger, then serve topped however your kids like it.

A few little notes from me:

• Like it thicker? Add an extra 2 tablespoons of rice. The congee will also thicken up overnight in the fridge as the rice keeps soaking up the liquid, so just stir through a splash of water or stock when you reheat.
• This one's a beauty for batch cooking. It reheats like a dream all week.

Jodie's food jar tips:

• Same golden rule as always: boiling water in the jar for 5 minutes first, then tip it out and fill with piping hot congee.
• Pack the crispy shallots separately in a little leak-proof container so they stay crunchy until lunchtime. Soggy shallots are a crime.
• Congee is thick, so it holds heat even better than soup. Perfect for the coldest weeks of term.