* 3 pounds whole chicken – cut up; or 3 large chicken breasts – boneless and skinless * 1 cup peeled and thinly sliced ginger (adjust to your taste)
* 6 garlic cloves – smashed, peeled and chopped
* 1 large onion, sliced
* 4 bunches green onions + 2 bunches for garnish - chopped
* 3 TBSPs. olive oil
* 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tsps. seasoned salt (Lawry’s or McCormick)
* 2 tsps. kosher salt
* ¼ - ½ cup fish sauce
* 18 cups water (chicken stock if using chicken breasts)
* 2 ½ uncooked rice (long or short grain)

Wash and cut the chicken into sections… i.e. wings (discard the tips), legs and thighs, breasts and back. Removed the skin and extra fat off the thighs and legs. Skin and deboned the breasts and slice the meat into thin pieces. If using boneless and skinless breasts only, simply thinly sliced them.

Using a 2 gallon stock pot… sauté the ginger, garlic, and sliced onions until onions are translucent. Stir in the cut-up chicken. Stir until chicken is lightly golden brown. Add the black pepper, seasoned salt and kosher salt. Simmer about 10 minutes. Add ¼ cup fish sauce. Stir and simmer chicken for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat to medium high… and add 18 cups of water or chicken stock if using only chicken breasts. Bring chicken to a boil.

Wash and rinse rice at least twice or until the water is no longer milky in color. Add rice to the boiling chicken and simmer for about 50 – 60 minutes… stirring every 20 minutes to keep the rice from sticking on bottom of pot… and to make soup creamy. Remove the chicken pieces with bones (wings, legs, thighs and back). Detach the meat and discard the bones. Add the meat back into the pot. Stir the soup and simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste for additional seasoning, i.e. black pepper and salt. If salt is needed… add the remaining fish sauce 1 tablespoon at a time until you achieve a perfectly seasoned soup.

Serve hot and garnished with chopped green onions.