A chicken-and-ginger rice porridge, yellow with safflower and turmeric, topped with fried garlic, spring onion and egg and served with fish sauce and calamansi — a congee with a Spanish name.
Untested: not yet made in this kitchen. It is here for the Rice section’s regional pages and is adapted from the source named in the Notes.
Ingredients
- 2 lb chicken, cut into serving pieces
- ¾ cup jasmine rice
- ¾ cup sweet (glutinous) rice
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes (the source uses Maggi Magic Chicken)
- 34 oz (about 4¼ cups) water, plus more as needed
- 8 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 onions, chopped
- 8 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 cup green onions, chopped
- 3 thumbs ginger, julienned
- 1 tablespoon safflower (kasubha)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- Fish sauce and ground black pepper, to taste (about 2 tablespoons fish sauce to start)
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
- Calamansi or lime, to serve
Directions
Key ingredients
Black Pepper · Fish Sauce · Turmeric
- Garlic. Fry the garlic slowly in the oil until golden, and set aside most of it.
- Aromatics. Sauté the onion, then the ginger for 1 minute.
- Chicken. Brown the chicken lightly and add about 2 tablespoons fish sauce.
- Rice. Stir in both rices for 30 seconds. Add the water, cover and bring to a boil, then add the bouillon.
- Simmer on the lowest heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice breaks down and the porridge thickens — usually more than 35 minutes. Add water as needed.
- Finish. Stir in the turmeric and safflower, and season with pepper and fish sauce. Add the eggs, fried garlic and green onions.
- Serve topped with more garlic and green onion, with calamansi and fish sauce on the side.
Notes
Source Adapted from “Arroz Caldo Recipe,” Panlasang Pinoy (Vanjo Merano’s site).
Corrections to the source 34 oz of water for 1½ cups of rice and 2 lb of chicken simmered 35 minutes or more is low for a porridge; expect to add water, which the source does not say. It also uses 2 tablespoons of fish sauce in its method while listing fish sauce only “to taste.”
The rice The half-and-half blend of jasmine and glutinous rice splits the difference between the glutinous-rice arroz caldo usually described and plain-rice versions.
The Rice section’s Southeast Asia page (/rice/southeast-asia/) covers the history and technique behind this dish.