A good friend of mine, Marivic Pinedo, wanted to share this arroz caldo recipe that her mother created.
“As a kid, arroz caldo was a dish I couldn’t wait to devour; I still remember sitting at the table, impatiently waiting to be served a bowl of this warm and comforting Filipino chicken and rice dish.
Most times I would hover over the stove and serve myself directly from the pot, making sure my chicken-to-rice ratio was just so. My favorites were the tiny chicken wings – a small pile of bones would slowly stack up to the side of my bowl, after sucking every last ounce of flavor from them. I wasn’t shy; the higher the pile, the prouder I was.
On the table, a bowl of fish sauce mixed with lemon juice was set out to add a little citrus and saltiness, while the deliciously smoky, fried garlic and ginger garnishes brought a pleasant crunchy texture. Once I had scraped the last grain of rice from the bottom of my Correll bowl, I would return to the stove to serve myself a second helping. It was never just a single serving situation.
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Arroz Caldo
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Rice
- Method: Stove topo
- Cuisine: Filipino
Description
Arroz caldo is a simple dish of rice and chicken soup that’s infused with garlic and ginger.
Ingredients
- 5 cloves garlic,minced
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 thumb size ginger, peeled and julienned
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cups white rice
- 20 chicken drumsticks and wings or 5 regular size chicken thighs
- 5 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron or generic saffra
- Salt and pepper
Garnish
- Chopped green onions
- Lemon wedges
- Fried garlic and ginger
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to directions on package. When the rice is cooked, blend half of it in a blender with a little water until the consistency is thick and soupy (like porridge). Set aside.
- In a large pot over medium high heat, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic, ginger and onions. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
- Add the chicken, lower the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the fish sauce and 1/2 cup of water (do NOT stir), cover and cook on low for 5 minutes.
- Stir and add enough water to cover the chicken, bring to boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the blended rice mixture and add the saffron.
- Stir well until the rice turns golden yellow.
- Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5, until the rice has thickened. Stir occasionally to prevent rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Turn the heat off, check that the chicken is cooked through and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve in a bowl and top with fried garlic, ginger, scallions and lemon wedge.
Garlic and ginger garnish
- In a pan over medium high heat, add minced garlic, half of the ginger strips and 2 tbps olive oil. Fry until light brown and set aside.
Notes
Store the leftover arroz caldo in a storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 366
- Sugar: 1.1g
- Sodium: 1690mg
- Fat: 14.7g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 29.2g
- Fiber: 0.3g
- Protein: 27.7g
- Cholesterol: 116.7mg
I love making congee using the post-Thanksgiving turkey carcass. Does your dad love his fish congee with lots of ginger? Love hearing your story, thanks!