A little break from the norm. This Arroz Caldo is made with Steal Cut Oats and topped with veggies, popcorn chicken and the perfect jammy egg.
Arroz Caldo vs Lugaw
There are two versions of a rice porridge in the Philippines. One is closer to Congee, where rice is just boiled in water to make for a super simple meal. It can be eaten as is, if you are feeling under the weather and can't keep anything down. You can also some soy sauce or boiled eggs for something more substantial.
Arroz Caldo on the other hands has more flavor cooked in and also a more hearty satisfying meal. Starting with frying the rice with the aromatics - ginger, garlic and onion. Then chicken is added in to get a quick sear before adding in the broth for all to come up to boil and cook together.
Why The Steal Cut Oats?
Short answer is my Doctor said I needed more fiber and steal cut oat is one of the best ways to get it through food. It also holds its bite, even when boiled for a long time, so it's the perfect replacement to the traditional rice.
How to Make Steal Cut Oats Arroz Caldo
In this version of Arroz Caldo I add more veggies like sauteed spinach and roasted delicata squash. If you still have leftovers from Thanksgiving, this is another way to use it up in a different way. To give the it a little zing I added some picked ginger beets.
To make it more hearty and to add a crunchy texture I took out the boiled chicken from the broth and cut it into small pieces seasoned it with salt and pepper. Putting it in the airfyer for 15 minutes makes it super crispy and almost popcorn like. Last but not least it's finished with the perfect jammy egg.
How to Make the Perfect Jammy Egg
Ahh jammy egg. It's super easy to do right. I like to get the pot of water into a running boil and turning it down just a touch. Then making sure you drop in the eggs slowly one by one. I like to use a slotted spoon to bring it all the way to the water and then doing a slow pull away. You leave it to cook for 7 minutes then transfer the eggs into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.
Lemon and Pepper
One of the key flavor profiles that make Arroz Caldo different is the abundance of kalamansi juice, soy sauce and black pepper. I don't know if it's just the way we eat it in our family, but we get quite heavy handed with the black pepper. I know that kalamansi juice is pretty hard to find, so fresh squeezed lemon is a great alternative. You can also swap out the soy sauce for coconut aminos if you are looking for something with no soy or lower in sodium.
There you go a little something different for the cold winter months.
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- 1 Inch Fresh Ginger Grated
- ½ Cup Onions Diced
- 4 Cloves Garlic Diced
- 1 Cup Steal Cut Oats
- 2 Pounds Boneless Chicken Thighs
- 4 Cups Chicken Bone Broth (Optional)
- 4 Cups Water (Double if not using bone broth)
- 8 Eggs
- 4 Cups Wilted Spinach
- 1 Cup Roasted Vegetable (anything left over is good)
- 8 Wedges Lemon
- ½ Cup Pickled Beets
- ¼ Cup Chives Chopped
- ¼ Cup Coconut Aminos
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- In a very large pot or dutch oven heat up the olive oil on medium to high heat. Add in the ginger and onions and cook until the onions are translucent. About 5 minutes. Add in both the oats and the garlic. Cook for 5-7 minutes until the oats start to smell a little toasty.
- Add in the chicken thighs and sear on both sides. Add in the bone broth (if using) and the water. Bring up to a running boil (about 5 minutes) then take the temperature down to medium and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and take out the chicken thighs and dry on a paper towel. Cut into half inch cubes and season with salt and pepper. Put into the airfryer at 350 degrees for 15 minutes until super brown and crispy. Take out and put on a small platter.
- While the chicken is cooking make the jammy eggs. Get sauce pan of water into a running boil then turn down the heat down just a touch. Make sure you drop in the eggs slowly one by one. I like to use a slotted spoon to bring it all the way to the water and then doing a slow pull away. You leave it to cook for 7 minutes then transfer the eggs into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. Peel the eggs, but don't cut until you serve the Arroz Caldo.
- To serve spoon the steal cut oat porridge into a bowl, top with the spinach, pickled beets, roasted vegetables, popcorn chicken. Now you can cut the jammy egg in half and place in the porridge. Garnish with chives and season with lemon, black pepper and coconut aminos to taste.
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