Congee, Arroz Caldo, Lugaw

Chef Ed Dychauco, RN.

Any one in any part of the Philippines, or even abroad would definitely have tasted or eaten this particular “dish” that is so popular, from the poorest of the poor to the riches of the rich.

I should know. Because I grew up eating this many times, especially when I am sick. So many a times, I am served this hot dish whenever I don’t feel like eating. I saw this being served also to my family members and relative when they don’t feel good. I could very well say that this is our counterpart for the very well-liked chicken soup in the United States.

Congee or lugaw or arroz caldo, whatever it is called is a staple among the Filipinos. Why? Because it can be prepared & served in a variety of ways. The simplest would be just the mixture of water & rice with a little salt for taste. The rice is cooked with a lot of water until it is soft and sometimes, mushy in consistency. Then, served hot.

However, as it evolved, many other exotic & interesting ingredients are added or can be added to make the porridge or lugaw more appealing to the taste buds. Some would add ginger for flavor (which I find very soothing to the throat!) and chicken pieces that is sautéed before adding the rice & the liquid. This is one dish I can still remember very well.

I underwent surgery in Connecticut many years ago due to diverticulitis (an inflamed out pouching (diverticula) of the colon). And the first solid food I got from my co-employees was a “get-well soon” card, a mylar balloon & a big nice warm cup of delicious chicken soup, what else! And when I went home to my Kumpare Nowell Emano & Kumare Cherrie Caylo-Emano’s house for recuperation, my kumpare made a big bowl of lugaw, complete with ginger & chicken! And that started my love affair with ginger flavored lugaw!

On the other hand, in most Chinese families, we eat plain lugaw (meaning it was cooked with water & rice only!) with what became a favorite of mine…”Bahoo” (meat floss). This meat floss is full of flavor and makes the lugaw taste so much better. Bahoo is basically dried, flaked meat which comes in 4 different varieties (pork, beef, chicken & fish). Incidentally, I also sell “Bahoo” in my shop.

Having been brought up in a typical Chinese manner, it is not unusual for me to see the elders enjoying lugaw with salted eggs, soy pork or chicken, pickled vegetables, and youtiao, (fried bread just like the shakoy we have).

When I went to mainland China with my dad & relatives way back in the early 90’s, I saw most Chinese people eating a big bowl of congee with some picked vegetables, either during the early morning as breakfast (which is what we got most of the time in the hotels), lunch or dinner. No wonder I didn’t see any obese people there. Maybe this would be a good way of slimming!

Back here in the Philippines, I see congee being served with scallions or fried garlic. And instead of the usual water, a tastier broth is used to add taste & flavor. It goes very well with tokwa’t baboy (tofu & pork), goto (beef tripe), and other meat products that is served with soy sauce, calamansi & patis.

Then we have arroz caldo (which is actually Spanish-influenced) using saffron & black pepper, on top of the ginger & scallion. This is yellowish in color as compared to the plain white color of the lugaw. It is also often eaten with other meat products.

All over Asian countries, they have their own version of the congee, especially those rice-eating countries.it is just prepared “their” way with the addition of what is more suitable to their tastebuds and what is traditional to their cuisine.

Now, how do we cook this comforting food? It is so easy that anybody can prepare this dish the way they wanted it done. But personally, to simplify this dish, I would just boil a lot of water with the rice and add some bouillon cube or powder plus some black pepper (I like it spicy!) and of course, some chicken or pork or beef slices for accompaniment. And Voila! I have a complete meal already. And the good thing about this is that I can refrigerate the left-over and heat it up the following day without much fuss in the kitchen!

And of course, this would really be an exceptionally and exciting dish during this rainy season of the year! Again, having some meat floss (Bahoo) to go with the congee or lugaw would make this a remarkable comfort food for people of all ages, be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks! And maybe, help us lose some weight, too!

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published in sunstar cdo Ocotber 29, 2010