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Filipino

Arroz caldo

Non-vegetarian

A thick, gingery Filipino rice porridge with chicken, topped with crisp fried garlic, spring onion, a boiled egg and a squeeze of calamansi.

Arroz caldo is a Filipino porridge from Philippines, ready in about 1 hour 10 minutes and made with fresh ginger, chicken pieces, skin-on and glutinous rice. It serves 5 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
A serving of Arroz caldo
Photo: Ernesto Andrade / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
55 min
Total
1 h 10 min
Serves
5
Level
Easy
Calories
674

Ingredients

5 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Fry half the garlic (opens in a new tab) in 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat until golden and crisp. Lift out onto paper and keep the oil.

  2. Step 2

    In a pot, fry the remaining garlic (opens in a new tab), ginger and onion (opens in a new tab) in the rest of the oil until fragrant. Add the chicken and fish sauce (opens in a new tab) and cook until the chicken colours.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the rice for a minute, then add the stock and turmeric (opens in a new tab). Simmer, stirring often so it does not stick, until the rice breaks down into a thick porridge and the chicken is cooked.

    • 40 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Cook chicken until no pink remains and the juices run clear (74 °C in the thickest part).

  4. Step 4

    Shred the chicken back into the pot if you like, season with pepper (opens in a new tab) and thin with water if needed.

    • 3 min

  5. Step 5

    Serve topped with egg (opens in a new tab), spring onion (opens in a new tab), the crisp garlic (opens in a new tab) and its oil, with calamansi or lime (opens in a new tab).

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Philippines · Well documentedSpanish name, but a Filipino dish in the family of Chinese-style congee.More food from Philippines
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Snack · Porridge & cereals · Rice dishes · Soups
Cooking method
Simmered, Sautéed
Taste
aromatic / warmly spiced, savoury, garlicky, mild
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Budget-friendly · Everyday
Cook more with
Fresh ginger · Chicken pieces, skin-on · Glutinous rice · Garlic · Onion · Fish sauce
Techniques
Sautéing · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Fishfrom fish sauce
  • May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce
  • May contain: Celeryfrom chicken stock

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

674 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 563 g · recipe makes 5

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 24%
  • Carbohydrate 30%
  • Fat 46%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy674 kcal120 kcal
Protein39.1 g7 g
Carbohydrate50.1 g8.9 g
Net carbohydrate48 g8.5 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre2.1 g0.4 g
Fat34 g6 g
Saturated fat8.1 g1.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol248 mg44 mg
Sodium1413 mg251 mg
Salt equivalent3.5 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
772 mg
Calcium
79 mg
Iron
3.6 mg
Magnesium
78 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
121 µg
Vitamin C
8 mg
Vitamin D
1 µg
Vitamin B12
0.8 µg
Folate (DFE)
60 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: lime.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The porridge thickens as it stands — keep hot water handy to loosen it.

Common mistakes

  • Not stirring often enough — glutinous rice catches on the bottom quickly.
  • Burning the garlic topping; take it off when pale gold, it keeps colouring in the hot oil.

Serve with

  • Add tokwa't baboy (fried tofu and pork) or crispy chicharrón on the side.

Food safety

  • Cool leftover cooked rice quickly and refrigerate within 1 hour; reheat until piping hot and only once.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Reheating

  • Reheat with water, stirring, until piping hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 2, 3, 5

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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