October 6, 2022
Vegan Arroz Caldo
This aromatic vegan Arroz Caldo – or Lugaw – is true comfort in a bowl! Growing up, my family always enjoyed this during the colder months, and on special occasions like Christmas and New Year’s Eve. With bold flavors of ginger and garlic, and a kick of spice and fresh lemon zest, you’ll find yourself craving this recipe whenever you’re in the mood for something warm and cozy.
vegan arroz caldo
Since it’s Filipino History Month here in the US, I decided to kick it off with one of my favorite Filipino recipes! Arroz Caldo, also known as lugaw, is the ultimate comfort food. It’s hearty and cozy and warms you from the inside out – kinda like a hug in a bowl. What I love most about arroz caldo is it’s simplicity. This dish is no-frills, but don’t let that fool you because it packs A LOT of flavor!
Grab a drink and let’s get to cookin’ the best vegan arroz caldo!
what is arroz caldo?
Arroz caldo is a type of lugaw or filipino rice porridge, that’s heavily infused with ginger and garlic, and garnished with toasted or fried garlic, scallions, and sometimes a hard boiled egg. It is usually served with calamansi or fish sauce as condiments. Many versions add safflower, which turns the dish characteristically yellow. It’s considered a comfort food in the Philippines, and served at many celebrations and holidays.
Though the name arroz caldo is Spanish due to Spain’s regime in the Philippines, the dish actually originates from Chinese congee. It’s said that arroz caldo was introduced to the Philippines by Chinese traders, then altered with ingredients to suit the tastes of Filipinos. Arroz Caldo is also similar to many other rice porridge dishes that are seen throughout Asia and Europe. At lease some version of this dish has made its mark throughout various parts of the world … and for good reason! It’s truly one of the most comforting and customizable dishes!
what goes in vegan arroz caldo
As I mentioned earlier, I love this dish because of it’s simplicity. The ingredients are one’s that you likely already have on hand. Here’s what you need to make it:
- Vegan chick’n pieces: make sure it’s “grilled” vegan chick’n pieces, such as Daring Foods, Gardein, or Sweet Earth Foods. You don’t want a crispy chick’n nugget or tender!
- Onion
- Ginger
- Fresh garlic
- Short grain rice: I’ve made this recipe with Jasmine rice, too, so feel free to sub it out if you’d like. In my experience, cooking times or the texture doesn’t change much, but if you like a much thicker arroz caldo and you decide to swap for Jasmine rice, start with 6 cups of broth and add 2 more after 30 minutes if you feel like you want it a bit “soupier”.
- Fresh lemon: the zest AND the juice! Typically, calamansi is used in this recipe, but it’s impossible for me to access where I live, so lemon or lime is a great substitute! And while the lemon zest isn’t “traditional” to this dish, I think it adds a nice flavor boost!
- Red pepper flakes: this is totally optional. I love adding a little bit of spice, but feel free to leave it out!
- Annatto powder: again, totally optional and it’s really only used for color!
- Vegan chick’n broth: I typically buy this in powder, cube, or paste bouillon form, then mix it with water to create a very flavorful broth. I can find artificial chick’n powder or bouillon at my local Asian market, specialty health food stores such as Whole Foods and Sprouts, or on Amazon. If you can’t access it, you can substitute it with mushroom powder, or vegetable bouillon. If using vegetable bouillon, I highly suggest using a powder or paste, as these are highly concentrated and will produce a much more flavorful broth.
- Green onion
- Soy sauce
- Vegan fish sauce: another optional ingredient, but totally adds that boost of *umami*. I find this brand at my local health food stores like Whole Foods and Sprouts, as well as on Amazon.
- Garnishes: All optional, but this is what I garnish my arroz caldo with – Fried garlic, chili oil, green onion, fresh lemon.
how to make it
This vegan arroz caldo might be one of the simplest recipes there ever was! It requires just one pot and about an hour of your time (most of which is done simmering over the stovetop!). Here’s how to make it:
1. saute:
Heat some oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the vegan chick’n and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until heated through and slightly crisped around the edges. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chick’n and set aside.
2. aromatics!
Heat some more oil in the pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, stir in onion, ginger, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, and the ginger and garlic is fragrant. Add the rice, lemon zest, remaining teaspoon of pepper, red pepper flakes, annatto powder, and stir to combine.
3. simmer:
Pour in the broth and the light green parts of the onion, gently scraping the bottom of the pot to remove and browned bits. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat medium-low, then cover and simmer until the rice is cooked and the broth has thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
4. chick’n and more aromatics join the party:
Add the reserved chick’n pieces, stirring to combine. Simmer, covered, another 15 to 20 minutes. Mix in the soy sauce, vegan fish sauce, and reserved lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
5. serve, garnish, and enjoy!
Serve immediately with chili oil, green onion, fried garlic and fresh lemon wedges, and enjoy!
more filipino favorites to enjoy for filipino heritage month
tools you need
- Large mixing bowl
- Heavy bottomed soup pot or large Dutch Oven
- Sharp knife and cutting board
- Wooden cooking spoon
- Grater or lemon zester
- Citrus juicer
- Soup ladle
meet the new chick’n soup for the soul: arroz caldo
I hope you love this vegan Arroz Caldo as much as I do! If you try this dish and enjoy it, I wanna know! Snap a photo, take a video, or make a story and post it to Instagram or TikTok, and tag me at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs. I love seeing your recreations of my recipes!
Til next time, friends!
XO!
- • 4 teaspoons avocado oil, divided
- • 8 oz vegan chick’n pieces
- • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- • 2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, divided, plus more to taste
- • 1 onion, diced
- • ¼ cup fresh peeled and finely julienned ginger (about 4-inches of a large piece of ginger)
- • 16 cloves fresh minced garlic
- • 1 cup short grain rice, rinsed
- • Zest of 1 large lemon, plus its juice, divided (should be about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice)
- • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- • ¼ teaspoon annatto powder, optional
- • 8 cups vegan chick’n broth
- • 1 bunch of green onion, white and light green parts cut into 1-inch pieces, dark green parts cut at a bias, divided
- • 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- • 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce
- • Fried garlic
- • Chili oil
- • Green onion
- • Fresh lemon wedges
- Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chick’n and season with the salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring often, until heated through and slightly crisped around the edges, 5 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chick’n and set aside.
- Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in the pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, stir in the onion, ginger, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, and the ginger and garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rice, lemon zest, remaining teaspoon of pepper, red pepper flakes, annatto powder, and stir to combine.
- Pour in the broth and the light green parts of the onion, gently scraping the bottom of the pot to remove and browned bits. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat medium-low, then cover and simmer until the rice is cooked and the broth has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add the reserved chick’n pieces, stirring to combine. Simmer, covered, another 20 to 25 minutes.
- Mix in the soy sauce, vegan fish sauce, and reserved lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately with chili oil, green onion, fried garlic and fresh lemon wedges, and enjoy!
1. Wash and drain your rice. Transfer it to a freezer-safe bag and freeze overnight.
2. When you're ready, heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a pot over medium heat.
3. Once the oil is hot, stir in the onion, ginger, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, and the ginger and garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the frozen rice (no need to defrost), lemon zest, 1 teaspoon pepper, red pepper flakes, annatto powder, and stir to combine.
5. Pour in the broth and the light green parts of the onion, gently scraping the bottom of the pot to remove and browned bits. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat medium-low, then cover and simmer until the rice is cooked and the broth has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes.
6. During this time, you can cook your vegan chick'n according to package directions, if you choose to add it.
7. After 15 minutes, mix in the soy sauce, vegan fish sauce, and reserved lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately with chili oil, green onion, fried garlic and fresh lemon wedges, and enjoy!
I’ve made this twice now! It’s a comforting, filling dish for a cold day xoxo
This is really good! I made it as written but I used only 2 T of soy sauce instead of 3 and I thought it was perfect (I used a pretty salty broth). I also reserved some crispy chik’n to put on top of the bowls. I’ll definitely make this again!