Recipe video above: A Chicken Arroz Caldo recipe made with medium-grain rice and glutinous rice. It’s garlicky, gingery, filling, and savory. This one is so easy to make and requires just one pot to cook. Serve with your favorite Arroz Caldo toppings and you’re day is complete!
Place the rice and glutinous rice in a bowl. Rinse with tap water. Drain and set aside. Dilute the chicken bouillon in 8 cups of hot water to make the chicken broth.
Heat oil in a large pot until just warm (not hot). Add garlic, fry until golden brown. Lower the heat if it becomes too hot to prevent burning the garlic. Remove from pot and set aside.
Add a little more oil. Add the chicken pieces and cook until no longer pink. Stir-in onions and ginger. Cook until softened. Pour the fish sauce and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Add the rice and chicken broth. Cover and cook until rice is broken up and broth is thick and starchy. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom. This usually takes 30 to 45 minutes. The longer the cooking time, the thicker consistency. Adjust cooking time depending on the desired consistency. Add hot water based on your preference.
Add half of the toasted garlic. Stir and simmer for another 3 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Add half of the chopped green onions. Stir then turn off the heat.
Serve in a bowl. Top with sliced boiled eggs. Drizzle with calamansi juice and top with more toasted garlic and green onions.
Video
Notes
Rice: You can use Jasmine rice (long grain rice) or Japanese rice (medium grain). If glutinous rice is not available, you can replace it with the same amount of regular rice.
Note that as the Arroz Caldo cools, it will become thicker so it's good to have extra hot water and add it when necessary.
Storage and Shelf life: If you have leftover Arroz Caldo, you can keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. It should be consumed within 2-3 days.
To reheat: Place in a pot and reheat on the stove. Add more water or broth and season with fish sauce and black pepper as needed.
TO COOK IN AN INSTANT POT:
You can omit glutinous rice if using Instant Pot as consistency will naturally become thicker with pressure cooking.
Use 7 cups of hot water instead of 8 to avoid the starch from overflowing in the vent.
Cooking: Follow steps 1 to 4. Close and seal the lid. Set to pressure cook for 10 minutes. When the cooking time is up, let the pressure release NATURALLY for 25 minutes. Do not quick release at this point. After 25 minutes, turn the knob to VENTING to release the remaining pressure. This should only take less than a minute.
After pressure cooking, adjust the consistency by adding more hot water.