Arroz Caldo
Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 pieces of ginger, sliced in thick chunks
2-3 lbs chicken (a combination of boneless, skinless thighs and breast works well), cut into bite size pieces
1-2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce), to taste. If you don't have this handy, just use salt!
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 cups chicken stock, low sodium
1 cup jasmine rice
scallions, finely sliced
Instructions
{weekday version}
In a large stock pot, saute the onion, garlic and ginger over medium heat until onion starts to become transparent. Add chicken, patis and pepper. When the chicken is cooked, add stock and rice. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Cover and continue to cook until chicken is very tender. Stir frequently and adjust seasoning as necessary. Take out the medallions of ginger (no one really likes biting into chunks of ginger!). Garnish with scallions and freshly ground black pepper before serving.
{weekend version}
If you have extra time on your hands, after you saute the onion, garlic and ginger, go ahead and put half a chicken, bone in, into the soup pot, and season accordingly. Add water (or a combination of stock and water), and bring it to a boil. Allow the soup to simmer until the meat is falling off the bones and can be easily shred. Remove any bones. Add the rice and continue cooking until ready. Adjust the seasoning as necessary.