Arroz caldo
Filipino chicken and rice porridge with a lot of ginger, coloured yellow, topped with crisp fried garlic, boiled egg, spring onion and calamansi.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 5 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr 20 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Arroz caldo is the Filipino chicken and rice porridge: thick, gingery and yellow. Chicken pieces are cooked with a great deal of ginger, garlic and onion and seasoned with fish sauce, then simmered with a mix of glutinous and ordinary rice until the grains burst and the pot turns to a creamy, spoonable porridge. A pinch of turmeric or safflower gives the colour. It wants stirring often in the last half hour, because the glutinous rice catches. The toppings matter as much as the pot: crisp fried garlic, spring onion, a halved boiled egg and calamansi to squeeze, with fish sauce at the table.
What you'll need
15 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Porridge
- To serve
Ingredients
Porridge
- Neutral oil44 ml
- Garlic, 6 thinly sliced for frying, 4 crushed for the pot10 clove
- Onion, chopped1 medium
- Ginger, peeled, in matchsticks50 g
- Chicken, bone-in thighs and drumsticks800 g
- Fish sauce, plus more at the table44 ml
- Sticky rice, glutinous rice100 g
- Rice, jasmine100 g
- Chicken stock1½ l
- Water, plus more to loosen500 ml
- Turmeric, ground, or a pinch of safflower (kasubha)2½ ml
- Black pepper2½ ml
To serve
- Egg4
- Spring onion, sliced3
- Lime, calamansi halves, or lime wedges4
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the sliced garlic over low heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until pale gold. Lift it out onto paper, where it crisps as it cools, and keep the oil in the pot.
5 min
Watch: Garlic goes from gold to bitter in seconds. Take it out a shade lighter than you want it.
Step 2
In the garlic oil, fry the onion, ginger and crushed garlic for 3 minutes. Add the chicken and fish sauce and cook for 5 minutes, turning, until the chicken is no longer pink outside.
8 min
Step 3
Rinse both rices, add them and stir for 2 minutes to coat. Add the stock, water and turmeric, bring to a boil, then simmer partly covered for 40 minutes, stirring often, until the rice has broken down into a thick porridge.
45 min
Tip: Scrape the bottom every time you stir. Glutinous rice sticks.
Step 4
Meanwhile boil the eggs for 9 minutes, cool them in cold water, then peel and halve.
12 min
Step 5
Lift out the chicken, pull the meat from the bones and return it to the pot. Loosen with hot water if it is too thick and season with pepper and more fish sauce.
8 min
Step 6
Ladle into bowls and top with the egg, fried garlic and spring onion. Put calamansi and fish sauce on the table.
2 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 474 kcal
- Protein
- 51.6 g
- Carbs
- 29.2 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Saturated fat
- 3.4 g
- Fibre
- 1.8 g
- Sugar
- 3.6 g
- Sodium
- 1965 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Fish
- Eggs
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Glutinous rice → All jasmine rice
Thinner and less silky. Simmer 10 minutes longer.
Tips
- It thickens a lot as it stands. Keep hot water handy to loosen leftovers.
- Make extra fried garlic. It keeps a week in a jar and goes on everything.
- Wings or a whole jointed chicken give a richer pot than thighs alone.
History & culture
This is rainy-season food and sick-day food, the bowl a mother makes when someone has a cold. It is sold from roadside lugawan stalls for breakfast or a late-night merienda, often with tokwa't baboy, fried tofu and pork in vinegar. Plain rice porridge is lugaw; with chicken and ginger it becomes arroz caldo.
The dish is Chinese congee at heart, brought by Chinese settlers. The Spanish name, rice broth, was probably given in Manila's Chinese-run eateries to sell it to Spanish-speaking customers. The yellow colour may be a nod to Spanish saffron rice, done with cheaper safflower or turmeric.
Traditional — Safflower, kasubha, is the traditional colouring in many homes; turmeric is easier to buy abroad and gives a stronger yellow. Some cooks use only glutinous rice for a stickier pot.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Arroz caldo take?
1 hr 20 min all in — 15 min prep, 1 hr 5 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Fish, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Dutch oven, Saucepan, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Fish sauce — 3 tbsp (plus more at the table). Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much fish sauce?
3 tbsp (plus more at the table) of Fish sauce.
What can I use instead?
Glutinous rice → All jasmine rice. Thinner and less silky. Simmer 10 minutes longer.
What should I watch for?
Garlic goes from gold to bitter in seconds. Take it out a shade lighter than you want it.
Any tips from this recipe?
It thickens a lot as it stands. Keep hot water handy to loosen leftovers. Make extra fried garlic. It keeps a week in a jar and goes on everything. Wings or a whole jointed chicken give a richer pot than thighs alone.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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