Chicken Arroz Caldo

This had been an eventful September. There are so many things to be thankful for, new friends met, and accomplishments to be happy of. It's been a month of endless blessings and with all the activities that took place such as opportunities of service and worship with my SFC Singapore community, gatherings with old friends, and solid projects at work, I decided to just stay at home for this month's last weekend so I could give myself some "alone" time.

I really miss having nothing to do but sleep, read, and eat. I needed a break to doze off and just lounge---

Like a (big, fat) boss.

So for this gloomy Sunday, I went to the nearby Shengshiong supermarket and grabbed a few ingredients to make an awesome Chicken Arroz Caldo. The last time I ever ate this was when I attended midnight mass here in Singapore last year (for free).

I guess it was just hot and "swak" to celebrate a good month and begin a busier one by cooking this porridge.

Ingredients:

- 2 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- Minced garlic
- Julienned ginger
- Chopped onion
- Hard boiled eggs
- 1/2 kilo of chicken parts
- Patis or fish sauce
- 1 chicken cube/ stock
- 5.5 cups of water
- 1 1/2 cup of Thai jasmine rice (uncooked)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Minced spring onion
- Toasted garlic

First, I sautéed the garlic, onion, and ginger in the saucepan. I sprinkled some pepper and waited until the ginger's a bit brown. Then I added the chicken bouillon cube so that all the ingredients would absorb the flavour. After that, I added the chicken parts, fried them for a few minutes, then put the fish sauce. I'm just so thankful that there was still some patis left in the kitchen, which was just right for this dish. When the chicken's already tender, I mixed the uncooked rice with it and poured the water.

At this point, I added the hard- boiled eggs and and seasoned it with salt and a little bit of pepper to blend the taste. 

While waiting for at least 45 minutes until the rice is cooked, I toasted the garlic in oil which I'd use to garnish. Remember, make sure you carefully toast it and prevent the minced garlic from getting burned. Otherwise, your arroz caldo would taste nasty and bitter. Once it turns golden brown, put it in a platter with kitchen napkin to absorb the excess oil.

When it's finally done, I put the arroz caldo on a bowl and garnished it with garlic and minced spring onion. Voila! Here's my Chicken Arroz Caldo with egg and a lot of love, which was just perfect for a rainy and lazy Sunday. Hello there, OCTOBER!