Arroz Caldo

Since the New Year was also upon us and also because TC was coming down with a cold...I decided to make Arroz Caldo. This is a chicken & rice porridge (for lack of a better word) cooked with ginger. My mom used to make this when we were sick. She also made this traditionally on New Year's Eve, along with palitao .


Arroz Caldo

Ingredients:

5 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp minced garlic
several pieces of ginger, cut into thick slices (depends how much you want)
1/2 large onion, peeled and diced
2 cups uncooked rice
8 cups water
2 1/2 - 3 lbs of chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (again, I used wings & drummettes)
patis to taste
chopped green onion tops
ground black pepper

(pictured below) Lovely...bloody chicken parts...
Butchering the wings into separate pieces:
Mincing the garlic:

Here's the patis (you can even see the price on it!) and black pepper mill:

Directions:

In a pot, heat 3 tbsp of the oil and saute 2 tbsp of the garlic, the giner and the onion. The onion is done when light brown and the onion translucent.

Add the chicken and add the cover. Let it steam for several minutes (stirring occasionally) until the chicken is no longer bloody.

According to the recipe book, I was supposed to add the rice and saute for 5 minutes before adding the water. I didn't.

I used a different recipe book this time. In the past, I've never sauteed the raw rice. Anyhow, I poured in the water. Let the mixture come to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Continue cooking for 30 minutes or until the rice is done.

As you wait for the rice to cook, make yourself useful and heat the remaining oil in a skillet and fry the remaining minced garlic until it is golden brown. Set aside.

Ahh...golden brown garlicky goodness (except for some big pieces there...oops).

When the rice is finally cooked, add the fish sauce and continue cooking over lowheat for another 3-5 minutes. Serve in a soup tureen or soup bowls. Sprinkle the fried garlic, chopped scallion, and freshly ground black pepper on top. This is SUPPOSED to serve 4 people, but it serves more!

This is what Arroz Caldo looks like ungarnished (it still tastes good this way):

and here it is with garnish...

I put my Arroz Caldo in this Corning Ware dish that we hardly use:

My mom would use all kinds of chicken pieces. For example, she would cut the wing and thigh pieces in half which I didn't like because the bone fragments would be floating around; those were not fun to encounter while eating! Ronin said he makes his arroz caldo with lemon because that is how his mother makes it...Any other variations?