
I absolutely love my 6QT Instant Pot. I use it all the time, especially on days when I’m feeling super lazy and I have to make dinner quickly and easily. I’ve made all kinds of food using it, from Mexican shredded chicken to chicken pho and even beef pho. I’ve also made Vietnamese yogurt and stews and soups. It’s one of my favorite kitchen appliances. If you don’t have one, you should go out and buy one!
Since it’s December and naturally cold and flu season, my husband came home the other day with a man cold. Since our 6 month old baby was feeling under the weather too, I wanted to cook something easy that they could both enjoy. Chao Ga, or Vietnamese Chicken Rice Porridge (or rice congee) was a staple sick food when I was growing up and my family loves it. It’s the ultimate sick food. Easy to digest, warm on the tummy, and just healthy. Also, it’s super easy to make the Instant Pot.
I am also the queen of laziness when it comes to cooking when I’m busy. This recipe is the world’s laziest and world’s easiest Instant Pot Chao Ga recipe. It uses frozen chicken breasts (because sometimes, you don’t have time to go to the grocery store to buy fresh thawed chicken breasts.)
Enjoy and please let me know you like it!

World’s Easiest Instant Pot Cháo Ga Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 6 cups of chicken broth
- 2 frozen skinless chicken breasts
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 knob of ginger, peeled
- 1 small or medium onion, peeled
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder (optional)
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the jasmine rice with cold water. Rinse until the water is clear.
- Add the rice, chicken broth, and frozen chicken breasts to the Instant Pot.
- Peel and mince the garlic cloves.
Peel the onion and ginger knob.
Add the aromatics to the Instant Pot. - Close the lid. Select Manual, High Pressure and set to 25 Minutes. Let it naturally release if eating later, or manually release it.
- If the consistency of the rice porridge (or rice congee) isn’t to your liking, add more water or chicken stock to thin it out using the Saute mode.
- Remove the onion and garlic knob from the porridge and discard.
- Using kitchen thongs, remove the chicken breasts and shred it before putting back in the porridge.
- Serve the Chao Ga with cilantro, chopped basil leaves, or fried shallot (whatever you’d like). Top it with ground black pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- Depending on your preference for thicker thinner porridge, you can adjust the chicken stock amount to your liking. For thicker rice congee, I’d use 4 cups of water. For a thinner consistency, I’d use 8 cups.
- If you want your Instant Pot rice congee to be saltier, add fish sauce to taste.

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OMG, I’m Vietnamese (& extremely impatient) and this recipe is so quick/delicious when I don’t feel well! Thank you!
I agree with Linda, a delicious, quick and easy recipe. Highly recommend!
This dish was so delicious to make!!! Eating it reminded me of home so much…thank you!!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I would love to make this for my hubby. He served in the US Army in Vietnam. This is one of his favorite dishes, but I do not have an Instapot. We have a local Vietnamese restaurant that makes it to his liking, but I would love to make it at home for him, since he is severely C19 compromised and going out to eat is not really an option now. Can you help me with converting this recipe to regular pots and pans?
I am a well-seasoned cook (not a chef). Not much will take me aback. This recipe sounded really like the Chao Ga that my hubby gets at our local Vietnamese restaurant. But I just am have having trouble converting this from Instapot to real cooking. Thanks for your help.
You can just boil it over the stove using the recipe. Then Add more water or stock if you want it thinner. It will take longer over the stovetop than the instant pot. Good luck!
I am still going to try to convert it to regular pots. I hope hubby loves it….
I hope your husband loves it!