(Chicago) – Lugaw is my all-time favorite Filipino comfort food. It is a simple and easy way to retreat back home. I make this numerous times especially when the weather is depressing cold during winter. I usually cook lugaw in big pot— something that could feed about 10 people. Oh no, that’s not all for me for one meal. I can’t eat that much anymore because of the fact that metabolism dwindles as we age. Though, I used to be the biggest eater in my circle.
Anyway, lugaw can be stored in the fridge for about a week and just re-heat as you want it. I don’t know if I’m delusional or what, but I think left-over lugaw tastes much better after a few days. The flavors are more developed, and it is thicker and richer as the rice absorbs most of the liquid.
What would life be without rice!
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 10 cups chicken stock (or water + chicken bouillon)
- 2 lbs chicken wings cut into bone pieces
- 1 thumb-sized ginger, thinly sliced
- I large onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (patis)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper
Garnishing:
- Garlic, chopped
- Spring onions, chopped
- Calamansi or lemon
Directions:
free casino games onlinen: justify;”>Heat vegetable oil in a large casserole over medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cook until golden brown. Be careful not to over toast as it will taste bitter. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain excess oil in a paper napkin and set aside.
Add the cut wings to the same pot and increase heat to medium high. Cook the chicken until golden brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain excess oil in a paper napkin and set aside.
Add ginger to the pot and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Then add minced garlic and onion and cook for another 2 minutes. Add unwashed brown rice and toast the grains for about 3 minutes. Then add chicken stock and let it come to boil. Add fish sauce and season. Then, lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for another 45 minutes or longer until the rice softens and liquid is reduced and starchy. Stir occasionally. The longer you cook it, the starchier it gets; the way I like it. 🙂 Add more fish sauce to your liking.
Put back the cooked chicken wings back and simmer for another 10 minutes. Finish. Serve in a bowl and garnish with toasted garlic and spring onions. Squeeze a calamansi if available or a teaspoon of lemon juice.
Variations:
This recipe is a good base for a lugaw. You can definitely add more ingredients like “kasubha” (Philippine saffron), boiled egg or dried shrimp. You can also replace the brown rice with plain white rice or sticky/glutinous rice. I just prefer brown rice because it is higher in fiber. For the meat, you can replace chicken wings with any part of chicken, tripe, liver, other innards, or whatever. If it will make you happy, put it there. 🙂 I always use chicken wings because of the high skin-to-meat ratio. You gotta love a little skin in your chix!