Chicken Arroz Caldo

My husband is feeling a bit under the weather these days. He's been very busy with work lately and what better way to perk up his weekend is a serving of our favorite chicken arroz caldo. It's one of our comfort food when we're getting the flu back home. Pretty much very easy to make. I believe even if you haven't cooked anything in your life, you can do this.

It is a must to make a good stock out of any chicken parts you have. Make sure to buy free-range chicken and those fed organically. I bought kosher chicken from Trader Joe's, cut it up into serving pieces and used the bony parts and a little bit of chicken breast to cook my stock. Put bay leaf, onion, ginger and pepper cloves to make the stock more aromatic (it's completely optional).

Ingredients:

• 1 Pound chicken cut into serving size pieces (any cut of meat of your choice)
• 1 Cup uncooked sticky rice or thai jasmine rice, washed and soaked in 1 cup of cold water for 30 minutes to an hour
• 5-8 Cups of chicken stock
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 4 Cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Large onion, minced
• 1 Large ginger, julliened 
• 1 Teaspoon, kasuba or saffron (safflower) 
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 Pieces hard boiled eggs
• 2 Tablespoon green onions, minced
• 4 Cloves garlic, sliced (to make garlic chips for topping)
• Lemon or lime wedges
• Chili oil (optional)

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a pot, heat olive oil in very low heat. When oil is heated, put in the sliced garlic and fry until brown and crisp. Make sure not to burn the garlic as it will taste bitter. Drain in paper towels and set aside.
2. On the same pot, put in onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant and translucent. Put in the cut-up chicken and cook until brown on all sides.
3. Add in fish sauce, black pepper and soaked rice (include the water or what's left of it). Pour in 5 cups of chicken stock. 
4. Saute occasionally (keep stirring if you can) and simmer for about 20 minutes. My mother usually keeps on stirring until the rice becomes sticky and puffed-up. Yes, this a labor of love and an arm workout at the same time. If it dries up add more chicken stock. 
5. When the rice is cooked and the consistency is creamy, add in the safflower and adjust the seasoning. Add more fish sauce if necessary. Turn off heat.
6. Top with hard boiled eggs, garlic chips and green onions. Sprinkle a little chili oil on top too and lemon or lime wedges on the side. Enjoy!