Arroz Caldo (Filipino Chicken Rice Porridge)
B hasn’t been feeling well, so I offered to make him arroz caldo, a Filipino chicken rice porridge. He had never heard of it before, and I told him it’s hands down the best porridge in the world.
We never really eat porridge since B does most of the cooking in the house, and he strongly dislikes porridge. Apparently, he was a “sickly, scrawny kid growing up”, and his mother would constantly make him eat porridge til he couldn’t stand it.
I’m not sure what was in my mother in law’s porridge, but it worked, since when I met B in college, he was a muscular 6 ft 2 inch gentleman lol.
Arroz caldo is a classic comfort food, perfect for cold rainy days (we’ve had plenty in Seattle this year with La Niña), sick days, and when you’re busy (this dish keeps really well and is easily reheated).
I haven’t had homemade arroz caldo in a long time, and it was hard to find a recipe that matched what I recalled in the Philippines. To my surprise, many recipes online didn’t include saffron, but I think that golden color and rich flavor is key. Like a lot of Filipino foods, there’s ginger, garlic, and fish sauce.
Adapted from Allrecipes and my memories from the Philippines.
