Can I Eat Rice on a Low-carb Diet? (Chicken Congee Recipe)

You can eat anything you want on a low-carb diet, as long as you keep the DAILY TOTAL carbs at 20 grams or less. But most people completely stop eating sweets, grains (including rice), potatoes, pasta, etc. because you can't eat much of those foods before you reach 20gm of total carbs.

However, 1/2 a cup of cooked rice is only about 22.4gm of total carbs, so not too bad and definitely do-able when you are on maintenance. So you can safely add ~1/2 a cup of cooked rice to a meal to soak up meat juices, mitigate some of the meat's richness, etc. If you choose to do this, the remainder of your meals/snacks must be carb-free for that day, of course.

Now the really cool thing is that, if you make chicken congee using 3/4 cup of raw rice, you can make six servings of this delicious, hearty meal, with each serving containing only ~20gm total carbs. Now that's really cool! Just be careful of the toppings that you choose if you don't want to push the carbs over your daily limit.

Here's my favourite chicken congee recipe: 

Amy & Jacky’s Instant Pot Chicken Congee

Six Servings – about 20gm total carbs per serving from the rice

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (173g) Jasmine rice (using standard 250ml cup)
• 5 - 7 cups cold water (using standard 250ml cup) - use chicken stock instead of water if you are adding pre-cooked chicken/turkey
• 5 - 6 chicken drumsticks or 4 thighs (add more chicken for an even heartier, more filling meal)
• 1 tablespoon ginger, sliced into strips
• Green onions for garnish
• Salt to taste (after cooking is finished)

Instructions

Rinse Rice: Rinse 173g (¾ standard cup) of rice in Instant Pot under cold water by gently scrubbing the rice with your fingertips in a circling motion. Pour out the milky water, and continue to rinse until water is clear. Drain well.

Pressure Cook Chicken Congee: Add ginger, 5-6 chicken drumsticks (or 4 chicken thighs) and 6.5 - 7 cups of cold water in Instant Pot.

*Rice to Water Ratio: 1 cup rice to 9 - 9.75 cups of water.

*Pro Tip: Do not add salt at this point.

Pressure cook at High Pressure for 30 minutes + Natural Release. Open lid carefully.

Thicken & Season Congee: The congee will look watery at this point. Heat up the Instant Pot using the Sauté function. Stir the congee until desired thickness and consistency, then season with salt.

Shred Chicken: Use tongs and fork to separate the chicken meat from the bones, then remove bones and skin. If you like, you can shred the chicken.

Garnish & Serve: Remove congee from heat, then garnish with green onions. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Notes

Extra Toppings: Crispy garlic, fried shallots, roasted salted peanuts, soy sauce, fish sauce, kimchee, sesame oil, etc.

Tip: If using pre-cooked chicken (or turkey), pressure cook the congee for 20 minutes with natural release. Place in the cooked chicken/turkey meat afterwards and sauté to reheat and thicken the congee up a bit.