This is Arroz Caldo. Arroz Caldo is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. This soup is made with chicken and rice in ginger-flavored broth. It is most often served as a meal on its own, especially when one is ill. Some people use a plain rice while some use malagkit. But in this recipe, I used a combination of both and it turned out great. Enjoy this recipe from all of us at Filipino Chow.
Arroz Caldo
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of uncooked plain rice or glutinous rice or combination of both
- 2 pounds of chicken legs and thighs, cut into serving pieces
- 1 head of garlic, peeled then minced
- 2 inch piece of ginger, julienne cut or chopped finely
- 1 medium-sized onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1-2 pieces of chicken bouillon cubes
- 8 cups of water
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
- 2 stalks of green onions, chopped for garnish
- 2 hard boiled eggs, shells removed then sliced
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the cooking oil over medium heat then saute half of the garlic until it becomes lightly brown and crispy.
- Remove the crispy garlic from the pan and set it aside.
- Add the remaining garlic to the pan followed by the onions then let this saute for about 1 minute.
- Be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Now add the onions and ginger to pot and briefly saute.
- Next add the chicken to the pot and continue to saute until it is slightly browned on the outside.
- Add the fish sauce and the uncooked rice to the pot then stir until well blended.
- Let this cook for a few minutes.
- Pour the water into the pot and bring it to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Drop the bouillon cube into the pot and let it melt.
- Let this simmer for about 45 minutes or until the rice and chicken are fully cooked.
- Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning.
- Add more water if needed.
- When the chicken is fully cooked and the broth is thick like a porridge, remove the pot from the heat.
- Transfer the arroz caldo to a serving bowl.
- Garnish with the fried garlic, hard boiled eggs and green onions.
- Season with fish sauce and calamansi to taste.
- Enjoy!
You can substitute chicken broth for the water. If you do, omit the chicken bouillon cubes. Slice the ginger thinly so it's soft enough to eat when cooked and seasons the dish with as much of the ginger flavor as possible.