Authentic Arroz Caldo - The Best Filipino Comfort Food

Do you have any dishes that remind you of a comforting or safe space from your childhood? What about a dish that you discovered as an adult that makes you feel like you grew up eating it? For me, that's Arroz Caldo or Lugaw.

This Arroz Caldo recipe was taught to me by my partner's mother, Yolanda. She was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Canada as a young adult. Yolanda is an incredible cook and has taught me so many recipes to appreciate the culture of the Philippines. Learning all my partner's favourite childhood meals was a way to give him the gift of home when his family is on the other side of the country.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Ingredients

Ingredients in italic will have options for substitutions or ingredient clarifications below. This recipe is incredibly customizable.

• Olive Oil
• Onion
• Garlic
• Shallots
• Ginger
• Turmeric
• Chicken
• Fish Sauce
• Chicken Broth
• Glutinous Rice
• Salt
• Pepper

Optional Ingredients for Serving

• Fried Garlic
• Hard Boiled Eggs
• Green Onions / Scallions
• Lemon (or Calamansi)

Substitutions and Diet Modifications

Can I make this fit my diet? Honestly Arroz Caldo is a relatively healthy dish. Although it's not low on carbs if you follow a diet like keto, it is loaded with immune boosting ingredients like turmeric and ginger, and it's low in fat other than the chicken. I wouldn't recommend turning this dish into a keto friendly version. Substituting cauliflower rice would be too mushy.

Fish sauce sounds gross - do I have to use it? Using fish sauce is a secret flavour booster and it really does really make this dish. I personally think of fish sauce like the Worcestershire sauce of Asian cooking. Keep in mind it will smell very strong at the beginning of cooking - it will mellow out when you add the broth and during simmering.

If you really don't like it it can be left out, but you'll need to add much more salt and it won't have the same umami kick that fish sauce brings to every dish it's in.

I don't like/have garlic/ginger/onions/shallots... If you don't like ginger this probably isn't the recipe for you. As for onions and shallots, if you only have one it's more than alright to just use one. Using both balances the dish. If you don't have garlic and either one of onions or shallots - don't bother making the recipe.

Should I use dry or fresh turmeric? It doesn't matter that much. Turmeric is used mostly for color with a bonus of being anti-inflammatory. If you happen to have saffron, you can put a few strands in for color, too. Traditionally in the Philippines they also use Annatto seeds but they're hard to find in many places.

I can't find glutinous rice - what can I use? I've used 100% arborio rice (risotto style short grain rice) or sushi rice with no problem. You can also use all Jasmine rice but keep in mind this will make the end product more watery. The best ratio is 1:1 cups of Jasmine and Glutinous rices.

As for topping ingredients, they're all optional. In my opinion, no Arroz Caldo recipe is complete without fried garlic and freshly squeezed calamansi - but you can leave it out and still have a delicious dish. Green onions or scallions are also a nice addition but can be left out with very little change to the dish as there's already so much aromatic flavour from the garlic, ginger, onions and shallots. Calamansi is hard to find so you can use lemons (or even limes) in a pinch.

Instructions, FAQs and Other Tips

Instructions

1. Before starting to cook, get all your mise en place done by peeling/dicing the garlic, onions, shallots and ginger. If using a whole chicken, cut into parts and remove skin - leave in bones.
2. In a large pot or Dutch Oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add in the garlic, onion, shallots, ginger and turmeric. Stir constantly until fragrant to avoid burning the garlic - about 5 minutes. 
3. Once the aromatics have started to become fragrant, add in the chicken pieces and saute until they start to brown and caramelize, about 5 minutes. You want the chicken to start releasing it's juices to flavour the dish.
4. Once the chicken has started to brown and release it's juices, add in the fish sauce and cover the pot. Cook down for 1-2 minutes. Add in the rice and stir to coat. Pour the chicken broth and stir to combine. 
5. Bring the mixture to a boil (this is a large batch - it may take up to 10 minutes) and then turn down the heat to medium-low and let simmer for another 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the rice doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.
6. Once the rice is cooked to the desired texture, season the dish to taste with fish sauce, salt, pepper and/or lemon juice.

Assembly

Top each bowl of Arroz Caldo with a hard boiled egg, fried garlic and green onions. If you don't have these at home, feel free to leave them out. Serve with a slice of lemon or calamansi if you can source some for an authentic Filipino taste.

FAQ

What is fried garlic? Where can I get it/make it? Freshly made is always best. To make homemade fried garlic, use this recipe from Panlasang Pinoy. If you don't have time to make your own, you can buy a lesser quality version at most Asian markets. This is the brand I keep on hand - I can't find a good place to source it online, but again, most Asian markets will stock it.

What cuts of chicken can I use for this? You can use either a whole chicken cut into pieces or a single cut of either thighs, drumsticks or wings. Any combination of this will work, though I do prefer using a whole chicken or at least bone-in thighs because it gives you lots of flavour from roasting the bones.

In every recipe that I recommend a whole chicken I always mention this video on how to butcher a chicken made by Melissa Clark of the New York Times. I'm not the most skilled when it comes to butcher work, but this video is by far the best direction I've seen on how to cut up a whole chicken.

Troubleshooting Your Final Product

Help, my final product is too...

Bland? Add fish sauce, pepper, salt and/or stock powder to taste. If you want your dish to taste more like (garlic/onion/ginger) when it's done cooking, you can no longer add in fresh because it won't cook down - add in dried (garlic/onion/ginger) powder to taste to level out what you think the dish is missing.

Thin? If your chicken is still a good texture, you can simmer your broth with the lid off for 10 or so minutes to thicken the soup. Alternatively, you can add in a bit of cooked rice to thicken it.

Thick? If you prefer a thinner Arroz Caldo recipe, you can add in water, broth or a mixture of water and broth powder to thin the soup. If you just add water, you may need to adjust seasonings to bring back a sufficient level of flavour.

Flavourful? If there's too much of a certain flavour (or all of them) for your tastes, you can add in no-salt added broth to cut back on the intensity. This may make your broth too thin - read previous note about troubleshooting a thin broth.

Salty? It's tough to fix an overly salty dish other than thinning it out with all the additional ingredients. It's best to be light handed with salt and/or fish sauce and adjust as needed. If the damage is already done, you can add in a bit of honey or maple syrup as well as lemon juice to balance out the saltiness.

Zero Waste Tips

Side and Serving Suggestions

As shown in the image above, this dish is best served with fried garlic, green onions, hard boiled eggs and freshly squeezed lemon juice.

For sides, this meal is pretty complete as is. You could have it with a very plain salad with lettuce, cucumbers, avocado and a light homemade dressing. When Yolanda stayed with us last year, we'd have that salad with every meal. I like a meal like this when I'm sick and definitely not in the mood to make more than one dish.

Another great rice dish to check out is this Instant Pot Sushi Rice for a more plain side dish idea.

Storing and Reheating Instructions

For storing, Arroz Caldo or Lugaw actually gets more delicious with time. Store in in the fridge for 3-5 days. Keep the toppings separate and top them on the heated dish when it's ready to garnish.

How do I reheat Arroz Caldo? Rice porridge style dishes thicken as they sit. Although in a pinch you can reheat in the microwave, the best way to reheat is in a small pan over the stove. Ideally, add in about a tablespoon of liquid (water or broth) per cup of Arroz Caldo.

Can I freeze Arroz Caldo? Can you technically? Yes. Would I recommend it? No, not really. The rice absorbs liquid and letting it freeze and thaw wouldn't give the dish very good texture.

Zero Waste Tips

As always, with any dish that calls for chicken - save your skin. Make crispy fried chicken skin as a salad topper and take the reserved fat for cooking. Mike Greenfield talks about this on his Pro Home Cooks video here. If you bought a whole chicken, save the back and spine to make homemade chicken broth.

If you didn't use all of you fried garlic (which would be surprising), you can use it on almost any dish to add a flavour boost. Think dishes that are Asian inspired - mostly Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese or Chinese. It's great on any proteins or rice based dishes.

If you have a lot of green onions left over, here's a guide from AllRecipes that talks about proper storage to maximize longevity.

When you cut off the green onion stems, leave about 1-2 inches of the white roots and place them upright in a mason jar filled with water to grow. You can regrow green onions! It's a super simple kitchen garden hack that takes about 2 weeks but only 3 minutes of work. The Ripe Tomato Farms posted a more thorough video on the process.

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