Instant Pot Arroz Caldo

When you’re living in a foreign country, you can’t help but miss comfort food from your home country. For me, as a Filipino, I have several comfort foods, such as adobo and arroz caldo. I never made it though in the Philippines because our house was staffed with a cook who would make it for us.

Now that I’m here in a foreign country, I’ve had to learn how to make these comfort foods if I wanted to eat Filipino food. I also want my children to grow up eating Filipino food, so they never forget they are Filipino. So, I learned how to make arroz caldo.

Arroz caldo is a Filipino dish made primarily of chicken, rice, broth, and ginger (among other things), but the combination of all these simple ingredients makes it such a flavorful dish. To make arroz caldo, you probably already have most things in your refrigerator or pantry already. However, if you’re not Asian, you might not have fish sauce. So make sure you have that fish sauce before even beginning to make this recipe. It’s usually not available in Western grocery stores, but you can get it easily on Amazon if you don’t have an Asian store near you. Here’s one, in case you need a link. Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce, 23.66 fl oz – One 23.66 Fluid Ounce Bottle of Fish Sauce Crafted for Dressings and Marinades for a Sweet, Tangy and Spicy Flavor

In the Philippines, we eat arroz caldo for breakfast in the morning. Here in Spain, it’s too heavy for breakfast. Breakfast here is coffee, cookies, and some pastries. Since arroz caldo is an entire meal, I prepare it for lunch or dinner.

You might think it’s difficult to make, but with an Instant Pot, it’s super easy. The Instant Pot is a game changer and has allowed me to make so many things in the kitchen that I would never have dreamed of making due to lack of expertise. If you still don’t have an Instant Pot, believe me when I tell you that you need to get one now. It will change your life.

I work from home, and my husband works from home most days, so when I prepare lunch during weekdays, I need something I can make with the least amount of effort possible. The Instant Pot helps me to do it. I just put the ingredients inside the Instant Pot and then forget about it.

For this arroz caldo, I would say the only the time consuming part is chopping the vegetables and cooking the garlic. The rest is easy-peasy. So without further ado, I bring you my very own tried and tested Arroz Caldo recipe.

Instant Pot Arroz Caldo

Classic Filipino dish of rice, broth, chicken, and fish sauce

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Servings 6

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

  

• 1 kilo chicken legs
• 1 cup long-grain rice
• 1 pc large yellow onion diced
• 2 thumbs ginger minced
• 3 cloves garlic mined
• 2-3 tbsp fish sauce
• 7 cups water
• 1/2 pc chicken cube
• 1 pinch saffron (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 head garlic fried minced
• scallions chopped
• 1 pc lemon sliced in wedges
• 5 pcs hard boiled eggs
• chicharon crushed

Instructions

 

• Put Instant Pot on saute mode. Add olive oil. Saute onion, and then add garlic, and then ginger.
• Add long-grain rice and 2 tablespoons of fish sauce. Mix it together with onion-garlic-ginger combination.
• Add 7 cups water, 1/2 chicken cube, 1 kilo chicken legs, a pinch of saffron, a little bit of salt and pepper. Don't go overboard with the salt and pepper because you can add more at the end, depending on your taste.
• Pressure cook for 25 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release for the rest.
• Taste. Add 1 more tablespoon of fish sauce, salt, and pepper, if desired.
• While the arroz caldo is cooking in the Instant Pot, cut the scallions, slice the lemons, crush the chicharon, and boil the eggs.
• Mince one head of garlic, and slow fry it in olive oil on the stove top on low to medium heat. You want to slowly cook the garlic until it is golden brown. Using low to medium heat will ensure you don't burn the garlic.
• Prepare one bowl for you with toppings. Enjoy.