From My Kitchen: Chicken Arroz Caldo

Have I told you about my awesome cookbook collection? I have quite a few! One of my latest ones is called Cook Real Hawaii by Sheldon Simeon. I was actually lucky enough to meet him at a popup right here in NYC at one of my favorite restaurants called Nowon. He even signed the book for me! Chef Sheldon is one of the Bravo Top Chef contestants, and I couldn’t wait to get my nose deep into the book, and cook a dish asap. His restaurant is located on Hawaii, so there is only a slim chance that I’d be able to dine there. Ergo: the only way to taste his cooking is to actually cook a recipe of his. Which I did. I chose a rice dish, because, well, I like rice. And of course I’m posting this recipe, because you should benefit from my adventures, and make this dish for yourself. It’s so good.

What you’ll need:

  • 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
  • 1 cup uncooked rice
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • I bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  • soft boiled eggs, peeled and halved
  • crushed pork rinds

Place the chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle with garlic salt and white pepper. Toss to coat, then set aside.

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering hot. Add the onion, minced garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes, Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally until the skin begins to browned and the fat renders, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the rice so that it’ coated in chicken fat and cook for another 5 minutes, until the rice smells toasted and nutty.

Pour in the chicken stock. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is nearly falling off the bone and the rice grains have broken down significantly, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. Adjust the consistency with water if needed. When the chicken cooled down enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and roughly chop. Season the rice with the fish sauce. Divide among bowls and assemble by placing chicken, scallions, egg and crushed pork rinds.

Bon Appétit!

Author: Gotham Foodie

Hello there, fellow foodies! My name is Erica, I was born and raised in Germany, and moved to the US, New York City to be exact, in July of 1987. I have worked most of my time here in the Big Apple as a bartender, but my true love is food. I cook just about every day, I search for good food everywhere, and pretty much always find it. I don't consider myself a food critic, I don't have the culinary background for that kind of expertise. I do however know good food, good chefs and good restaurants. I report back about my culinary adventures, and I choose to leave out my unsatisfactory experiences. We have enough negativity in our daily lives, I don't want to add to that. All the recipes in my FROM MY KITCHEN and DOTW blogs are cooked and prepared by me. All pictures are taken by me. I don't always eat everything you see in my pictures, but you bet your buns, I do try everything. Last but not least, you should know that I am a huge Top Chef fan. I have never missed an episode of the Bravo TV show. I have at this point visited almost 20 restaurants run by Top Chef contestants, and I'm continuously impressed by their skill, drive and passion. So I will continue to seek them out, and I hope you join me in my journey!

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