Chicken Long Rice — Detailed

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
• 2.5 cm per 240 ml broth (approx. 60 g total) fresh ginger, peeled, sliced thick — a generous fistful
• 1.5 litres water
• 200 g mung bean noodles (long rice), soaked in cold water until pliable, drained
• 1 tsp salt, to taste

Method

1. 1
   Place the chicken thighs and ginger slices in a large pot. Pour over the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a steady simmer. Skim any foam that rises to the surface in the first ten minutes. Simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. The broth is ready when it is deep golden in colour and coats the back of a spoon with a faint viscosity — the sign of gelatin drawn from bone.
2. 2
   Lift the chicken from the broth. When cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones and discard the skin and bones. Tear the meat into generous pieces. Remove and discard the ginger slices. Taste the broth and season with salt. This is where the dish lives or dies: the ginger must announce itself in every spoonful. If it does not, the quantity used was insufficient — there is no corrective at this stage.
3. 3
   Return the broth to a gentle simmer. Add the soaked, drained mung bean noodles. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are fully translucent and have absorbed a significant portion of the broth, becoming slippery and tender but not dissolved.
4. 4
   Return the torn chicken meat to the pot. Stir to combine and allow to warm through for 2 minutes. The finished dish should be brothy rather than dry — the noodles glisten and the broth remains pooled around them. Serve immediately in deep bowls.