Cooked From the Heart » chicken, Featured, Filipino, soup » Arroz Caldo – Chicken Soup with Rice
Arroz Caldo – Chicken Soup with Rice
All the rich foods of the holidays, and having a snowy after-Christmas morning had me yearning for something simple and comforting. I had cooked a very plain version of this dish for my sick daughter a couple of weeks ago. It was more plain rice porridge than what we Filipinos recognize as Arroz Caldo or Lugaw or Congee, no matter how it is called. The rice soup we know is usually adorned with a multitude of toppings depending on ones taste. So for our after-Christmas meal, I decided to make a pot of chicken soup with rice.
I had posted the recipe for Arroz Caldo when I first started blogging years ago for another site but that site no longer exists and I change versions all the time anyway so I thought this would be as good a time as any to revive the recipe.
This is the recipe as I made it this time. Everyone has their own version of this soup and even I change my version all the time, depending on what I have on hand and what I feel like eating. Of course, you can vary the meats and toppings used. You can even make it without meat or toppings like I did for my sick daughter. I encourage you to experiment and play with the recipe.
Recipe: Arroz Caldo or Chicken Soup with Rice
Summary: Filipino style chicken soup with rice
INGREDIENTS
2 Tablespoons minced Garlic
4 Tablespoons minced Ginger
1 large Onion, diced
2 cups of Rice
12 cups of Water (or chicken broth if you have it)
3 Tablespoons of Fish Sauce (Patis)
Salt & Pepper, to taste
2 Tablespoons of Oil
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the oil and add the garlic, ginger and onions. Stir fry them until they become fragrant but before they start to brown (a couple of minutes). Add the chicken pieces and stir fry for a couple of minutes more. Add the fish sauce, and cover the pot. Let the chicken and aromatics cook in the fish sauce until almost all the liquids evaporate. Stir every once in a while until the whole mixture starts to sizzle but make sure you don’t burn the garlic and onions.
At this point, add the rice and stir to coat. Add the water, and bring to a boil then turn the heat down to simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked and the rice has blistered (about an hour). After an hour, the chicken should be tender and the soup thickened. If it seems to dry or too thick, add more water or broth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve.
Variations
TOPPINGS – These are the toppings we used this time. You can use some or all of them, depending on your taste:
Napa Cabbage
Green Onions
Cilantro
Ginger
Fried Garlic
Hard Boiled Eggs
Fish Sauce
Hot Sauce
Lemon/Lime
Cooking time (duration): 90
Diet (other): High protein
Meal type: supper
Culinary tradition: Filipino
My rating:
Written by Jeanette Moore (JMom)
I am a terrible housekeeper but I do love to cook so it all evens out in the end. I like to try new recipes that I think my family will like. However, I am not one to follow all recipes to the letter. I tend to tweak and change the recipes based on what I have on hand and how I am feeling at the time. Feel free to share your versions, I just might try it out next time I make the dish again.
Filed under: chicken, Featured, Filipino, soup · Tags: chicken, Filipino, Rice, soup
I love to eat arroz caldo and chicken dishes. I wish there is also a restaurant that could cook arroz caldo more often. I haven’t tried with napa cabbage or cilantro but I tried it with chicken and boiled egg, which are nice toppings.
[...] Cooked From the Heart » Arroz Caldo – Chicken Soup with Rice [...]
Great post and recipe. Sounds delicious and definitely worth trying. Thank you for sharing.
[...] So this January when we were actually slipping and sliding on ice for once, I made a huge pot of chicken soup with rice to warm our soul and brough out extra matouk to warm our [...]
This sounds like an interesting dish. I will have to try it sometime. I just wouldn’t know what topping to put on it. I guess I will have to experiment a little with it. You really have some great dishes to try, and of all the one’s I’ve tried I haven’t been disappointed yet. Thanks!