• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Onolicious Hawaiʻi
  • Recipes
  • Restaurants
  • Travel
  • About
  • Newsletter
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Restaurants
  • Travel
  • About
  • Newsletter
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
    • Travel
    • About
    • Newsletter
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    Home » Soup

    Millet Porridge / Congee with Chicken and Mushrooms

    Published: Jul 13, 2023 by Kathy · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Whether you call it millet porridge or millet congee, this homey dish with chicken, shiitake mushrooms, and ginger is tasty and hearty (but not heavy!) We finish with green onions and white pepper for extra flavor. It's easy to prepare and flexible, a true one-pot meal that will satisfy the whole family.

    A bowl of millet porridge with chicken and mushrooms.

    You remember our recipe for Millet Porridge / Congee? That's a classic, it's a good foundation recipe for cooking millet.

    Today's recipe starts with a similar base, but adds chicken, mushrooms, and ginger to make it a complete meal. We love serving this for easy weekday lunches at home. It's nourishing and a "feel good" type of dish.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top tip
    • FAQ
    • Millet Porridge with Chicken and Mushrooms
    • Related

    Ingredients

    The ingredients for this recipe are very straightforward. Many of the ingredients also appear in a lot of other recipes on this blog, so feel free to stock up!

    Here's what you'll need:

    Ingredients for millet porridge with chicken and mushrooms laid out on a table (millet, chicken, mushrooms, mushroom soaking water, green onions, ginger, and white pepper).
    • Millet
    • Water
    • Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in water overnight
    • Boneless skinless chicken thighs
    • Ginger, minced
    • Green onions, chopped
    • Salt
    • White pepper

    See recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities.

    Instructions

    Let's get cooking!

    A bowl of millet porridge with chicken and mushrooms.

    Clean millet.
    Place the millet in a large bowl and rinse with water 2-3 times (until the water runs almost clear). Drain the water and set it aside.

    Slice shiitake mushrooms.
    Remove the shiitake mushrooms from the water which it was rehydrated in (save the water!) and thinly slice the mushrooms. Set aside.

    Slice chicken.
    Thinly slice the chicken and set aside.

    Combine and boil water.
    Combine the 4 cups of water with the reserved mushroom water (strain the mushroom water to remove any impurities) and pour into a pot. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiled, add the millet.

    Add other ingredients to the pot.
    Bring it back up to a boil and then add the mushrooms, chicken thighs, and ginger. Turn the heat down to low, cover the pot, and let cook for 30 minutes.

    Stir and cook.
    Stir the pot every 5-10 minutes to make sure the millet doesn’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot, and to help make everything cook evenly. Skim any foam that rises to the top.

    Season and serve.
    Once the porridge / congee is done cooking, season with salt and white pepper. Then spoon into individual bowls and top with green onions. Eat and enjoy ^_^

    Hint: If you didn't have time (or forgot) to rehydrate the dried shiitake mushrooms in water overnight, you can do a "fast" version by placing the mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and then filling the bowl with hot water. Place a lid on the bowl and let sit for 30 minutes.

    A bowl of millet porridge with chicken and mushrooms.

    Substitutions

    This is a flexible recipe. There are many substitutions you can make:

    • Replace the chicken with thinly sliced pork. Pork is a great in porridge / congee type dishes (like our Congee with Century Egg and Pork).
    • Use a mix of mushrooms to make a mixed mushroom millet porridge.
    • Skip the meat entirely and add more mushrooms. This is a good option if you want to make it a vegetarian dish.

    Variations

    Here are some ideas to get you started:

    • Spicy - Finish the dish with a drizzle of chili oil (that's what we did in the photos for this recipe).
    • Garlic or Shallots - Sprinkle fried garlic chips or fried shallots on top.
    • Soy sauce and sesame - Add a light drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil to each individual bowl.

    There are so many variations you could do with this dish. Let us know if you have other ideas!

    Equipment

    All you need is one medium size pot for this recipe. That's about as easy as it gets ^_^

    Storage

    The porridge / congee leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or the stovetop, whichever is easiest for you.

    Top tip

    Stir the pot every 5-10 minutes. This is both to make sure that the millet doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot and that all the ingredients cook evenly.

    A bowl of millet porridge with chicken and mushrooms.

    FAQ

    What is millet?

    Millet is a whole grain and very nutritious. They are tiny golden kernels (that look a little like quinoa) and have a sweet nutty taste.

    There are many types of millet, and we use use foxtail millet for cooking at home.

    We often cook with millet when we want to switch it up from the usual rice porridge / congee.

    Side dish pairings.

    This dish can be a complete meal on it's own, but it's nice to have extra side dishes. A few great side dishes to pair with this recipe: Hot Sesame Oil Tofu, Pan Fried Tofu (With Garlic Soy Sauce), and Shoyu Hot Dogs.

    Other recipes using millet?

    Try our Millet Porridge / Congee! It's a super simple recipe made with just millet, water, and kabocha. The kabocha is optional but delicious. You can also replace the kabocha with another type of squash, use pumpkin, or sweet potato.

    A bowl of millet porridge with chicken and mushrooms.

    Millet Porridge with Chicken and Mushrooms

    A tasty and hearty (but not heavy!) porridge. One-pot recipe, a sure crowd pleaser.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3 people
    Calories: 416kcal

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup millet
    • 4 cups water
    • 6 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated overnight in 2 cups of water
    • 2 pieces boneless skinless chicken thighs
    • 1 ½-inch knob ginger, minced
    • 3 stalks green onions, chopped
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon white pepper

    Instructions

    • Place the millet in a large bowl and rinse with water 2-3 times (until the water runs almost clear). Drain the water and set it aside.
    • Remove the shiitake mushrooms from the water which it was rehydrated in (save the mushroom soaking water for Step 4) and thinly slice the mushrooms. Set aside.
    • Thinly slice the chicken thighs and set aside.
    • Combine the 4 cups of water with the 2 cups of reserved mushroom water (strain the mushroom water to remove any impurities) and pour into a pot. Bring the liquid to a boil. Once boiled, add the millet.
    • Bring it back up to a boil and then add the mushrooms, chicken thighs, and ginger. Turn the heat down to low and cover the pot. Cook for 30 minutes.
    • Stir the pot every 5-10 minutes to make sure the millet stick to the bottom of the pot, and to help make everything cook evenly. Skim any foam that rises to the top.
    • Once the porridge / congee is done cooking, season with salt and white pepper. Then spoon into individual bowls and top with green onions. Eat and enjoy ^_^

    Nutrition

    Calories: 416kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 2386mg | Potassium: 397mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 359IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 4mg

    Related

    Looking for other recipes and posts? Try these:

    • New Cholon in Honolulu Chinatown.
      New Cholon (Oahu) - Vietnamese Snacks!
    • Bacon Almond Onigiri Musubi.
      Bacon Almond Onigiri / Musubi
    • Kombu Onigiri / Musubi.
      Kombu Onigiri / Musubi
    • Kimbap and spam musubi from Kimbap Plus.
      Kimbap Plus (Oahu)

    More Soup

    • Wonton Soup.
      Wonton Soup
    • Lotus root soup.
      Lotus Root Soup
    • A bowl of Sesame Oil Chicken Soup, ready to eat.
      Sesame Oil Chicken Soup
    • A spoonful of cordyceps soup.
      Cordyceps Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Alan

      July 21, 2023 at 5:19 am

      I have never had millet congee; in fact I don't believe I ever had millet at all. LOL! But it looks delicious. In my younger days growing up as a kid, I used to love chicken congee a lot. My mom used to make a very heartly one dish dinner with chicken congee for us -- the thing she used a lot of that I loved the most was chung choy. And she had a lot of "toppings" for us -- chopped peanuts, chopped ginger, chopped green onions, julienned lettuce, and if she had any around, she also used chopped char siu pieces. I would load up my bowl of congee (or Jook) with all the toppings and go to town!!

      Reply
      • Kathy

        August 08, 2023 at 7:57 pm

        Hi Alan! We still eat chicken jook/congee a lot, always so satisfying and feel good 🙂 Yes to all the toppings!
        - Kathy

        Reply
    5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

    Mahalo for Reading! Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Aloha, I'm Kathy!

    I'm a born and raised Hawaii local who loves everything about Hawaii (especially the food). I’m excited to share recipes from our island home, favorite restaurants, and Hawaii travel tips ^_^

    More about me →

    Trending Posts

    • Haupia Pie from McDonald's Hawaii
      Special Menu at McDonald's Hawaii
    • Shoyu Chicken
    • Plate of Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp
      Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp
    • A bowl of Hawaiian Macaroni Salad.
      Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

    Most Popular

    • Misoyaki Butterfish
      Misoyaki Butterfish
    • bowl of sushi bake
      Sushi Bake
    • Furikake Salmon
      Furikake Salmon
    • A bowl of Furikake Chex Mix
      Furikake Chex Mix

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Info

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility

    Newsletter

    • Sign up here

    Contact

    • About
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    As an Amazon Associate Onolicious Hawaii earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2025 ONOLICIOUS HAWAII

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.