VEGAN ARROZ CALDO (FILIPINO RICE PORRIDGE)
Get cozy with our Vegan Arroz Caldo (Filipino Rice Porridge)! This savory rice porridge is Filipino comfort food at its best.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon neutral oil, divided
- 10 garlic cloves sliced thinly, plus 5 garlic cloves (minced), divided
- 1 14-oz package of extra firm tofu
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce divided
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 tablespoon ginger minced
- ½ cup of glutinous rice
- ½ cup of white jasmine rice
- 9 ½ cups water or as needed
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon salt or as needed
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper or as needed
To serve:
- Sliced green onions to garnish
- Calamansi (aka Filipino lemon) or lemon wedges
Instructions
- Fry the garlic topping: In a pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add sliced garlic and fry until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer fried garlic to a paper towel to drain.
- Cook the tofu: Add tofu to the pot and pour over 2 tablespoon soy sauce. Pan-fry until golden brown. Set aside.
- Cook the aromatics: Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot. Add onion and ginger and cook until onions are golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook 1-2 minutes, or until fragrant.
- Cook the rice: Add the glutinous and jasmine rices, water, vegetable bouillon, turmeric and remaining 2 tablespoon soy sauce and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer and cook for 35-40 minutes, or until the rice grains have expanded and have begun to break down, the broth has thickened, and a porridge-like texture is achieved. Season with salt and pepper and stir in tofu. The porridge will thicken over time, so adjust water and seasoning as needed.
- Serve the arroz caldo: Top with green onions and fried sliced garlic and serve with calamansi or lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
- Storage: Your arroz caldo can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Reheating: The rice grains will absorb the broth over time, so you will need to reheat your arroz caldo in a sauce pan with extra water and adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- Rice alternatives: Glutinous rice will give your arroz caldo a thicker, silkier texture. But if you don't have glutinous rice on hand, using just jasmine rice works just fine.
- Yellow coloring agents: To give your arroz caldo its characteristic yellow hue, you can use safflower, saffron or turmeric. Safflower can be tricky to find, and we find saffron overpowering (not to mention expensive 💰), so we use turmeric instead. Not only is turmeric easy to find, it's cheap, and its earthy flavor complements the ginger-infused arroz caldo broth.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!