Arroz caldoChicken rice porridge
Rainy-season mornings, sick days and late nights after a party all end with a bowl of arroz caldo somewhere in the Philippines. Sticky rice simmers with chicken and a fistful of ginger until it breaks into a thick, savoury porridge, tinted gold with safflower, then each bowl gets crunchy fried garlic, spring onion, a halved boiled egg and a squeeze of calamansi. It is the Filipino cousin of congee, with a sharper ginger bite. Chef's tip: stir often in the last half hour; glutinous rice settles and scorches on the base, and one burnt patch flavours the whole pot.



