Canja ~ Brazilian Chicken Soup with Rice
Canja is a traditional warm, comforting, and hearty Chicken and Rice soup in Brazil. Chicken on the bone is cooked with tomato, onion, garlic, and carrots in broth to extract all of the delicious flavor. The chicken is then separated from the bone, shredded, and returned to the soup. Then rice is added to cook until thick and creamy. The resulting dish is a thick, hearty soup with the tender flavors of chicken and the comforting texture of rice.
Servings 8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 2 pounds Chicken Breasts and thighs with bones
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup Carrots Diced
- 1 medium Onion
- 4 tomatoes chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup chopped Parsley
- 3 quarts of water
- 3 Chicken bouillon cubes or 3 teaspoons chicken base
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 cup Uncooked white rice, long grain
Instructions
- Prep the veggies. Peel and dice the onion. Mince the garlic. Chop the tomatoes. Chop the cilantro.
- Preheat a large dutch oven or soup pot over high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add the oil and the chicken to the pot to brown on one side, then flip to brown the other side.
- Add the onion, carrots, tomato, garlic, half of the parsley, water, and bouillon cubes. Stir to combine, add the bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Once boiling (takes about 10 minutes), partially cover, leaving a crack for steam to escape and simmer for another 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside to shred. Meanwhile, add the rice to the pot along with 2 more cups of water. Bring back to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, separate the chicken from the bones and shred the meat it into bite-size pieces. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Test the rice and if it isn't tender enough, simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed. Serve and enjoy!
