Arroz Caldo – Instant Pot
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The classic Filipino Arroz Caldo is the perfect soup to warm you when it’s cold, to soothe your aches when you’re sick, or the “just because” kind of soup. Whenever it was monsoon season back in the Philippines, one of the favorite soups our family enjoyed was Arroz Caldo a Spanish word that translates to “ Rice Soup”
Why is this hearty Arroz Caldo soup meal so popular? Perhaps the fact that it is affordable, it fills the belly and it is the ultimate in comfort foods that all Filipinos love. Here in America, the colder months of winter came upon us in a blast. And when the temperature started to dip, I needed to sip some soup to warm up.
Arroz Caldo is simple to make. And in the Instant Pot it’s even easier. You can toss everything in the Instant Pot multicooker, and walk away to do other stuff. All you need to gather together are chicken, rice, broth, garlic, onions, ginger and seasonings. The garlic, onions and ginger sauté in seconds in the Saute function of the muticooker pot. And then the chicken cooks quickly in high pressure. Add the rice and broth, and in minutes, a whole meal suddenly comes together.
Arroz Caldo is not just a winter soup. In the Philippines, where one experiences the tropical warmth of a hundred-degree weather year round, Arroz Caldo is the Filipino go-to soup for when one needs healing, comfort, and love. It’s really like a hug in a bowl, for all seasons.
*My Arroz Caldo – Instant Pot recipe was featured by The Happy Home Cook on Positively Filipino online magazine. Click here.
For more of my Instant Pot Filipino recipes, buy my cookbook Instant Filipino Recipes: My Mother’s Traditional Philippine Food In a Multicooker, where I transformed traditional Pinoy cooking into everyday, faster meals. My cookbooks are sold on Amazon.com. Click here.
Arroz Caldo - Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot - 6 or 8 quarts
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled, minced
- 1 whole large yellow or white onion, chopped
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, sliced thin
- 2 scallion stalks, sliced; divided, white parts for saute; greens for garnish
- 2 Tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
- ½ pound chicken thighs, bone-in; about 3 pieces
- 1 cup uncooked white rice grains
- 8 to 10 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 to 4 whole calamansi (or lemon), sliced
- 2 whole hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the Instant Pot multicooker by selecting the Saute function on the keypad.When the inside pot is heated in about 1 minute, add the oil.Saute the garlic for 2 minutes till crisp. Remove the fried garlic and drain on paper towels. Set aside.
- To the saute, add the onions, ginger and scallion whites. Continue saute for 1 minute.Pour the patis into the pot and add the chicken pieces.Scatter the rice grains over the chicken inside the pot.
- Pour the water into the pot. Season with salt and ground black pepper.Do not stir.Click CANCEL to turn off Saute function.
- Secure the lid. Check that the cooking pressure is on HIgh and the release valve is set to Sealing.Select HIGH PRESSURE for 40 minutes.
- When cooking is complete, do a quick release.Open the lid carefully and stir the cooked rice and chicken, using a long kitchen spoon.Check to see that none of the rice has stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the whole chicken pieces and transfer them to a large chopping board. Shred the chicken meat into strips. Return the shredded chicken to the pot with the cooked rice and ginger broth.
- Serve piping hot in individual soup bowls. Garnish with slices of calamansi (or lemon), hard- boiled eggs, scallions and crisp garlic.Serve a side dipping sauce of patis (fish sauce) if desired.
Instant Pot Notes:
- After the intial Saute, it takes about 17 to 20 minutes for the Instant Pot to preheat before the High Pressure cooking time begins. For other multicooker brands, please consult the product manual. Disclosure: Instant Pot is a brand name of a multicooker that cooks in high and low pressure. I was not paid to endorse this brand. My opinions are my own.
- To cook hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot: I've shared how to cook hard-boiled eggs in the Instant Pot in a previous blog post. In case you're interested, here is the recipe. Click here.
Copyright:
- Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided in the recipe links is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE Asian in America recipes on this blog, my original recipes, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC by Elizabeth Ann Quirino. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
Nutrition
Notes on Nutrition: The nutrition information provided in the recipe links is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.
Copyright Notice: Hello, Friends! Please DO NOT LIFT OR PLAGIARIZE Asian in America recipes on this blog, my original recipes, stories, photos or videos. All the images and content on this blog are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED and owned by my media company Besa-Quirino LLC by Elizabeth Ann Quirino. This means BY LAW you are NOT allowed to copy, scrape, lift, frame, plagiarize or use my photos, essays, stories and recipe content on your websites, books, films, television shows, videos, without my permission. If you wish to republish this recipe or content on media outlets mentioned above, please ASK MY PERMISSION, or re-write it in your own words and link back to my blog AsianInAmericaMag.com to give proper attribution. It is the legal thing to do. Thank you. Email me at [email protected]
I’ve never pressure cooked anything for 40 mins. Is that because of the chicken?
Hi Jemma, for this recipe, the pressure cooking time is longer because the chicken pieces are bone-in, and the uncooked rice is cooked together with the meat. Hope that helps.
So tasty! I made everything to the directions except I fried the garlic in a separate pan because I didn’t want to fish them out of the instant pot. Really tasty recipe and I only added a bit of salt and pepper. Served with 7 minute eggs. I’ll definitely make this again.
Thanks, Jen! So glad you tried and enjoyed my Arroz Caldo in the Instant Pot !
Hi Elizabeth! I just wanted to check that the recipe only needs 1/2 pound of chicken thighs? Thanks!
Hi Alhana, yes this recipe only needs half a pound of chicken. You can use other chicken cuts if you prefer.