Recipe video above. The ham version of the traditional Chinese rice soup known as Congee - Rice slow cooked until it breaks down to thicken the broth flavoured with ham bone. Every year, the Chinese fight over leftover Christmas ham bones to make this! :) But actually, using a store bought ham hock is safer - see note 1.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time2 hourshrs30 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs40 minutesmins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Ham Bone Rice Soup
Servings: 5- 6 people
Calories: 338cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
1 kg (2 lb)ham bone / hock(Note 1)
1 1/4cupslong grain white rice, uncooked
9 cups (2.25 L or 2.25 QT)water
Garnishes / finishes:
Salt & white pepper
Finely sliced green onion
Fried asian shallots / onions or something else crunchy, optional (Note 2)
Sesame oil, optional
Instructions
Place bone, rice and water in a large pot, slow cooker or pressure cooker. Cover with lid.
Cook using preferred method (times below), or until meat on ham is tender enough to shred.
Remove ham from soup, shred meat. Discard fatty / thick skin and sinew, keep bone. Use scissors if needed to chop meat.
Stir rice well, then return meat AND bone into soup.
Cook using preferred method, until rice is broken down and soup has a porridge like consistency - see video.
Remove bone. Stir vigorously, then adjust consistency with water if desired. Or simmer uncovered if necessary to thicken. Adjust salt to taste (I usually just need a pinch), add a dash of pepper.
Serve rice soup garnished with green onions, a sprinkle of Asian Fried Shallots and drizzle of sesame oil.
Storage tip: Return bone into the soup, it continues to add flavour.
Cook times:
Stove: Simmer on low for 1 3/4 - 2 hours (no stirring), shred meat, then on low for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Slow Cooker: Low for 8 hours, shred meat, then low for 1 - 2 hours.
Pressure Cooker: High for 50 minutes, shred meat, then high for 15 minutes or 20 minutes on sauté function.
Notes
** Scale recipe based on your ham bone weight using the recipe scaler - click on Servings and slide **1. If you're using a leftover ham bone, you do need to ensure there's plenty of meat left on it. It's not so much about having enough ham bits in the soup, it's about flavouring the broth.It's safer to make this using a store bought ham bone because it comes with plenty of ham and a thick layer of smoked skin which adds plenty of flavour to the broth.Note ham hocks are mostly bone and fatty skin which is discarded - about 60 to 70% on average.2. Congee is traditionally served with strips of crispy fried wonton skin as a garnish. I never bother at home - instead I use store bought Asian fried shallots or onions which not only add the crisp factor, they add flavour and little pops of salt too.3. General tips: - Ensure the bone is mostly submerged - if not, it may require turning during cooking because the part submerged in the broth cooks faster. Also, exposed ham = less flavour in rice, so you may need to cook a bit longer post returning shredded meat into rice to infuse more flavour into the broth.- This recipe yields a congee with a generous amount of ham per serving. Normal shop bought congee is mostly rice and soup with just a tiny bit of stuff (fish or chicken usually). I have a higher ratio of ham to rice to ensure you get good ham flavour in the broth. You could add another 1/4 cup of rice and 1 3/4 cups water, to stretch it out more, but I wouldn't do more than that.- The broth gets infused with more flavour once the shredded meat and bone is returned to the soup for the 2nd phase of cooking. - Careful of over salting, the ham continues to leach salt into the broth when the soup is sitting around.4. Make ahead - ham has a good shelf life, so I feel comfortable keeping it in the fridge for even 5 days. It will congeal but loosen up when reheated Add a touch of water to loosen. I haven't tried freezing it.5. Complete the meal by adding vegetables into the soup. eg. add stems of Chinese vegetables chopped into spoonable sizes and cook until tender (or cook separately and divide into bowls, top with soup), then stir the leafy bits in just before serving. You could do the same with spinach too. 6. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings - about 2.5 cups per serving. Excludes toppings.
Nutrition Facts
Chinese Ham Bone Rice Soup (Congee)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 338Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 43mg14%
Sodium 855mg37%
Potassium 253mg7%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Protein 18g36%
Calcium 31mg3%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.