Arroz Caldo

Ingredients

The pot

• 250 gglutinous rice (malagkit), rinsed
• 600 gchicken thighs and drumsticks
• 1large thumb ginger, julienned
• 1onion, chopped
• 6 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2 tbspfish sauce (patis), plus more to serve
• 1.8 litreschicken stock
• 1 tbspoil
• 1 tspkasubha (safflower) or a pinch of saffron

Toppings

• 8 clovesgarlic, thinly sliced and fried crisp in oil
• 4spring onions, sliced
• 2hard-boiled eggs, halved
• calamansi or lime wedges
• cracked black pepper

Directions

1. Fry the sliced garlic in a little oil over low heat until evenly pale gold, then lift it out at once onto paper. It keeps cooking off the heat and goes bitter in seconds if taken too far. Keep the garlic oil.
2. In the same pot, soften the onion, minced garlic and most of the ginger in the oil for 4 minutes, until fragrant and just colouring.
3. Add the chicken and fish sauce and turn the pieces through for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the rinsed glutinous rice and coat it in the oil, then pour in the stock and add the kasubha.
5. Simmer uncovered 35–40 minutes, stirring often and scraping the base, until the rice has broken down and the whole thing is thick and porridge-like. Add hot stock or water whenever it gets too tight — glutinous rice absorbs a great deal.
6. Lift out the chicken, pull the meat from the bones and return it to the pot. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce rather than salt.
7. Serve in deep bowls, topped with fried garlic, spring onion, half an egg, plenty of black pepper and the remaining raw ginger, with calamansi to squeeze over at the table.

Technique

• Glutinous rice, not ordinary rice. It is what gives arroz caldo its thick, clinging body rather than a thin soup with rice in it.
• The fried garlic and the calamansi are not garnishes. Without the sharpness and the crunch the bowl is flat.
• Kasubha is safflower and gives colour with almost no flavour; it is not saffron, though saffron can stand in.

Substitutions

• Ordinary short-grain rice works, though you will need to stir more and it will be looser.
• Lemon in place of calamansi, with a little less of it.

Variations

• Goto, the same porridge made with ox tripe instead of chicken.
• Lugaw, the plain unseasoned version eaten when ill.

History

Ginger chicken rice porridge with a Spanish name for a Chinese congee, carrying both colonial and migrant influences in one bowl.

Frequently asked questions

What is Arroz Caldo?

Arroz Caldo is a soup & stew from Philippines: ginger rice porridge with chicken, safflower and fried garlic. Ginger chicken rice porridge with a Spanish name for a Chinese congee, carrying both colonial and migrant influences in one bowl.

How long does Arroz Caldo take to make?

Arroz Caldo takes 15 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Arroz Caldo?

Yes, within limits. Ordinary short-grain rice works, though you will need to stir more and it will be looser. Lemon in place of calamansi, with a little less of it.

What is the most important thing to get right in Arroz Caldo?

Simmer uncovered 35–40 minutes, stirring often and scraping the base, until the rice has broken down and the whole thing is thick and porridge-like. Add hot stock or water whenever it gets too tight — glutinous rice absorbs a great deal.