Arroz Caldo

I have written previously about an arroz caldo recipe which was hugely successful.  However it made use of leftover roasted chicken.  What if you have dressed chicken in the freezer, and the weather is just right for that nice bowl of smoking hot arroz caldo?  Then follow this recipe.

As an extra special arroz caldo, we used a cup of glutinous rice.  The procedure will be the same if you use ordinary white rice, but instead of 8 cups of water, use 7.



Ingredients

cooking oil
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, diced
1 inch ginger, cut into thin strips
1 cup uncooked glutinous rice, washed and drained
8 cups water
500g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
ground black pepper and salt to taste
spring onion for garnish (optional)
Calamansi (if you have it, or try lemon or lime wedges if you wish)


Procedure
Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil on a pan over medium heat and stir-fry half of the garlic, followed by the onion and the ginger. The other half of the garlic will be used for garnish.

Add the uncooked glutinous rice and stir-fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned.  Set aside.

Quickly clean up the frying pan, then add enough cooking oil for the chicken.  Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper then fry these over medium heat.

Pour the water in a pot and add the stir-fried garlic and rice as well as the chicken.  Increase heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

When the water starts to boil, bring heat back to medium, and simmer for half an hour.

While waiting for the dish to cook, heat up the remaining oil and stir-fry the rest of the garlic until golden brown. Set aside.

When the rice (and chicken) are cooked, season with salt and pepper.  I did not place much salt in mine, because I like pouring a bit of fish sauce on it when served.

Serve hot with golden browned garlic, spring onion, some patis, and calamansi on the side.

Enjoy.