I'm trying to recreate the chicken and rice soup my grandmother used to make when I was a kid, but it never comes out with that flavor and consistency I remember. She used a whole chicken, some basic vegetables, and let it simmer for hours. Does anyone have a traditional Portuguese recipe that actually works?
The secret to your grandmother's canja is probably all in the cooking time, because unlike what a lot of people do quickly, traditional canja needs hours to develop that rich, full-bodied broth. Take a whole chicken (or the meatier parts if you prefer), put it in a large pot with cold water, bring it to a boil and remove that foam that comes up at the beginning. Then add a whole onion (yes, with the skin on is better, it gives color), about 2-3 peeled garlic cloves, carrot sliced into thick rounds, a celery stalk if you have it, salt and let it simmer on low heat for about 2-3 hours at least. The longer it cooks, the better the broth becomes.
About an hour before you're done, take out the chicken, shred the meat and put just the meat back in the pot, then remove the big vegetables (they've already given everything they had to the broth). This is where the rice comes in - usually you use regular round rice (like carolino), add about a cup or so and let it cook until it's really soft and releases a starch that makes the soup naturally creamy. Some people add a whole beaten egg at the end, stirring well to create those egg threads, which gives it a super characteristic texture. The difference from a more "quick" soup is exactly that: the patience of letting everything cook slowly creates a deep broth that quick canja can never achieve.
Canja really does turn out different if you don't let the chicken simmer slowly from the start - it's not just about throwing everything in a pot and waiting! What your grandmother probably did was start with cold water, the whole chicken, and let it heat up gradually, because that way the broth becomes much deeper and more flavorful. After at least two hours is when you'd add the rice and vegetables, otherwise they fall apart and lose their texture. Also try not to peel the garlic and onion completely - leave the skin on to give more flavor to the broth and take it off later.
The trick is really about not losing the chicken's collagen - let the canja simmer nice and slow for 3 or 4 hours, and that broth naturally becomes gelatinous. But here's something people forget: the rice has to go in only at the end (last 20-30 minutes), otherwise it turns into mush and you lose that broth flavor your grandma had. What's the ratio of water to chicken you usually use, and what do you add at the end for seasoning - is it just salt or do you throw in some crushed garlic too?
Have you ever tried it with beef broth instead of water, or have you always made it just with water and chicken? What people usually forget is that the amount of rice makes a huge difference - if you put in too much, it turns into mush; if you put in too little, you lose that creaminess you remember. Your grandmother probably measured it by eye, like a handful of rice per liter of broth, and let it cook down well until it was really soft.
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