The Happy Home Cook: Instant Pot Arroz Caldo

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Instant Pot Arroz Caldo (Photo by Elizabeth Ann Quirino)

The classic Filipino Arroz Caldo, is a rice porridge that’s cooked with chicken in a broth seasoned with ginger, garlic, patis (fish sauce) and calamansi. This is a simple, hearty rice soup that is easy to make. It is also known to help heal one who has a cold or the flu, or when one is feeling under the weather. In my latest cookbook, Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Food In a Multicooker Pot, I shared how to cook this soup porridge in a quick way, without losing the flavors and the soul of mom’s cooking.

Serve this soup piping hot with fried garlic and chopped scallions on top. Finish off with a sprinkling of calamansi (or lemon) juice.

*Reprinted with permission from Instant Filipino Recipes Cookbook by Elizabeth Ann Quirino (Amazon.com).

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 large white or yellow onion, chopped

1-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

2 scallion stalks, sliced diagonally and divided; use white parts for sauté, greens for garnish

2 Tablespoons patis (fish sauce)

½ pound bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 pieces)

1 cup uncooked white rice grains

8 to 10 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 to 4 calamansi or 1 large lemon, sliced

2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced  

Procedure

·       Preheat the multicooker by selecting Sauté on high heat.

·       When the inside pot is heated (about 1 minute), add the vegetable oil. Sauté the garlic for about 2 minutes until crisp. Remove the fried garlic and drain them on paper towels. Set aside.

·       Add the onions, ginger and scallions, and sauté.

·       Pour the patis into the pot and add the chicken pieces.

·       Scatter the rice grains over the chicken inside the pot.

·       Pour the water into the pot and season with salt and ground black pepper. Do not stir!

·       Click Cancel to turn off Sauté function.

·       Secure the lid. Check that the cooking pressure is on High and the release valve is set to Sealing.

·       Select High Pressure* for 40 minutes.

·       Once cooking is complete, use a quick release. Open the lid carefully and stir the cooked rice and chicken, checking that none of the rice has stuck to the bottom.

·       Using a slotted spoon, remove the whole chicken pieces and transfer them to a large chopping board. Shred the meat into strips. Return the shredded chicken to the pot with the cooked rice and ginger broth.

·       Serve warm. Garnish with slices of calamansi or lemon, hard-boiled eggs, scallions and the crisp garlic.

*Note: After the initial Sauté, it takes about 17 to 20 minutes for the Instant Pot to preheat before the High-Pressure cooking time begins. For other multicookers, please consult the product manual. The Instant Pot is the brand name of a multicooker that cooks in high and low pressure.

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Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Elizabeth Ann Quirino, based in New Jersey, is a journalist, food writer and member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP). She blogs about Filipino home cooking and culinary travels to the Philippines on her site AsianInAmericamag.com.

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