Meat-Free Arroz Caldo

Who said you can't have Arroz Caldo without the chicken?

A lot of you might say that Arroz Caldo is not an Arroz Caldo if there's no chicken in it. It's the chicken that gives Arroz Caldo its life. I mean no disrespect to this timeless recipe (it's one of my favorite Filipino merriendas) but I did make one without the chicken - and I even skipped the mandatory fish sauce :P. Hey! Vegetarians also have the right to enjoy the yummy arroz caldo, specially in this kind of weather we are having lately - rainy and grey. Perfect for a hot tasty arroz caldo!

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup white rice
- 1/2 cup sticky rice (glutinous rice)
- 6 cups of water (or vegetable stock)
- small ginger, cut in strips (i used about 10 strips)
- 2 Tbsp safflower (kasubha)
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (for garnishing)
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
- onion spring, finely chopped (for garnishing)
- 1 calamansi or lemon (for garnishing)
- 1 hard boiled egg
- salt and pepper to taste
- olive oil





1. Add some olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the garlic until it's golden brown. Set aside. We will use this for garnishing later.
2. In a pot, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
3. Saute the 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic until golden brown. Add the onions until soft, and then add the ginger until it releases its flavour.
4. Pour 6 cups of water (or vegetable broth). Add 1/2 cup white rice and 1/2 cup of sticky rice.
5. Set the stove to medium heat and let it simmer. Stir occasionally to make sure that the rice doesn't stick on the pot. Add more water if necessary. The goal is to make it look like risotto (but maybe softer). If it gets sticky, just add water.
6. Sprinkle the safflower (kasubha) and stir. Add salt and pepper according to your taste.

To serve:
Scoop the arroz caldo in a bowl. Sprinkle the toasted garlic (oil drained) and spring onion.Cut the hard boiled egg in half and put it on top. Serve with calamansi or lemon slice. Add a dash of pepper if you wish!

Best matched with fried tofu.