Vietnamese Chicken Rice Soup

The original recipe uses whole free-range chicken because after the chicken is cooked, the chicken meat retains its chewiness and is good for making chicken salad .This recipe is similar to Chinese congee, a thick gruel or porridge suitable for babies and adults, normally having a neutral taste itself, It will respond to almost any – sweet or savory.. My recipe of chicken soup is simpler but will not sacrifice the taste. Everyday I want to create a recipe that is easy enough for any cook who wants to prepare for themselves and enjoy the process of cooking.
Ingredients:
2 chicken thighs
2 chicken breasts
8 cups water*
4 cups good chicken stock
1/2 cup white rice, washed and drained
2 tbs oil
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
3 scallions, cut into 3 inch lengths
1 knob of ginger, about 2 inches mashed
2 cloves garlic, mashed
1 tbs salt
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs fish sauce

Garnish:
Cilantro, green onions, bean sprouts, black pepper and lemon wedge

Directions:
In a 5 quart stock pot, add water, onions, scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, sugar and chicken. Bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and skim off any scum floating on the surface. Simmer for 10 minutes. Cover and turn the heat off. Let the chicken soak in the flavor broth for 1 hour. Then remove the chicken and drain the broth.

In the same pot over medium heat, add oil, rice. Sauté rice and 1 tbs chopped ginger  (I like to flavor rice with some ginger) until it becomes shiny or opaque.

Pour the broth back into the stock pot and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat off. Let the rice cook slowly in the hot broth for 1 hour.
While the rice is cooking, prepare the cooked chicken. Cut the cooked chicken into 1/2 inch bite-size pieces and set aside.

After an hour, uncover the lid and season the soup with fish sauce and some salt, if needed. Put the chicken back into the soup.

In a serving bowl, place some bean sprouts on the bottom. Ladle the soup and garnish with chopped cilantro, green onions and black pepper.

* The total liquid for this recipe should be around 12 cup