Vietnamese Duck Congee (Chao Vit)

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Vietnamese Duck Congee (Chao Vit)

Duck Congee (Cháo Vịt) is hearty with tender shredded meat and creamy texture. It can easily be cooked on the stovetop or in a pressure cooker. Suggested steps for pressure cooker method are in the Recipe Notes section.

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Breakfast, Main Dish

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: duck porridge

Servings: people

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Sophie Pham

Ingredients

2 duck legs
6 cups water
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
3 scallion stalks, seperate the white and green parts
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white rice, washed and drained
2 tablespoons brown rice, washed and drained (or just white rice)
fish sauce (to serve and to taste)
cilantro, thinly sliced
Vietnamese coriander, thinly sliced (or Thai basil, tarragon)
julienned ginger (to serve)
black pepper

Instructions

Bring plenty of water to a boil in a pot, then add duck legs and parboil for 2 minutes. Remove the duck and discard the liquid.
In a clean pot, add 6 cups of water, garlic cloves, ginger slices, scallion whites and salt. When the water starts to simmer, add duck legs. Let the water simmer again and add all the rice.
Bring everything to a boil, then lower heat to a gentle simmer. Skim off foam, then cover the pot with the lid askew. Simmer for about 30-35 minutes.
Check the congee pot every 10 minutes or so, give it a stir or skim off foam if needed. After 30-35 minutes, take the duck legs out of the pot. Seperate the meat from the bones. Shred the meat and put the bones back into the pot and simmer for another 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the bones from the congee. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt or fish sauce. Also check the consistency and adjust it to your liking by adding a bit more water to thin it out or simmer it a little longer to thicken it.
Add shredded duck meat to the congee and stir to distribute evenly in the congee. Transfer congee to serving bowls and top with thinly sliced scallions, cilantro, Vietnamese coriander, julienned ginger and black pepper.

Notes

If you want to cook the congee in a pressure cooker, below are suggested steps:

Parboil the duck legs as in Step 1. You can trim off some of the skin to reduce the amount of fat in the congee later.
Turn on the pressure cooker with Sauté mode. Once it is hot, add a little bit of oil and then add ginger, garlic and scallion whites, stir and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Add rice, stir and cook for 30 seconds to a minute, then add about 4 cups of water, duck legs and salt. Cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes and let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes.

When cooking the dish on the stovetop, check and stir occasionally to prevent sticking, especially near the end. While simmering the duck legs, you can skim off excess fat if needed.

Nutrition