016 / 75 · A Hot Meal to Carry

Ginger Chicken and Rice Soup

3 bowls, about 1 1/2 cups each · Active 20 min · Total 40 min

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Fresh ginger gives this clear chicken-and-rice soup a clean, direct flavor. A small amount of rice is cooked in the broth rather than added as a large mound at the end, so the soup has body but remains easy to spoon. The chicken is cut small enough to heat evenly. Scallion greens and a little rice vinegar finish the pot, bringing freshness to a meal that can otherwise spend much of its time under a flask lid.

Jump to ingredients

Ginger chicken and rice soup with carrot and scallions.

Choose soup texture on purpose

Long-grain white rice softens and releases a little starch as it cooks. That is useful here, but it will keep absorbing liquid after the heat is off. For a meal eaten immediately, use the stock quantity as written. If the soup will be chilled for another day, keep an extra splash of stock or water ready for reheating. Stir from the bottom to loosen any rice that has settled. The chicken goes in after the rice has had a head start, keeping the small pieces from becoming dry. Check several pieces reach 165°F/74°C. When using a food flask, preheat it according to the manufacturer’s instructions and fill only with soup that is already thoroughly hot; the flask is a holding vessel, not a way to warm refrigerator-cold food.

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons neutral oil (10 ml)
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into small dice (80 g)
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated ginger (10 g)
  • 3 scallions, white and green parts separated and sliced
  • 1/3 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed (65 g)
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock (960 ml)
  • 10 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (285 g)
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce (15 ml)
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar (10 ml)

Set out

3-quart saucepan, Wooden spoon, Instant-read thermometer, Wide-mouth insulated food flask if transporting hot

Allergens

Soy, Wheat. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Heat oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Add carrot, ginger and scallion whites and cook for 3 minutes, stirring.
  2. Add rice and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in chicken and soy sauce. Simmer for 7–9 minutes, until rice is tender and chicken pieces reach 165°F/74°C.
  4. Remove from the heat and add rice vinegar and scallion greens. Add a little water if the soup has thickened more than you like.
  5. Serve, or fill a preheated food flask with a hot portion and keep it closed until the meal.

Portion for the next day

Divide soup into shallow individual containers and cool it quickly, ideally within 1 hour of cooking. Keep refrigerated and eat within 24 hours. Reheat only the portion needed once; rice may thicken the soup, so stir in a little water before checking that it is hot throughout.

A useful detail

Use a wide-mouth flask for a soup containing rice and chicken; a narrow drinks bottle is awkward to eat from and harder to clean.

Another way

  • Use boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut to the same size and cooked to 165°F/74°C.
  • Add a handful of finely sliced spinach for the last minute of simmering.

Keep it well

Cool remaining soup quickly in shallow portions, ideally within 1 hour of cooking. Keep at 40°F/4°C or below and eat within 24 hours. Reheat only the portion needed once to 165°F/74°C, stirring and adding water as needed; eat immediately and discard uneaten reheated soup. A hot flask portion must stay at 140°F/60°C or above until eating. Do not cool a reheated flask portion for another meal.