Arroz Caldo - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 head garlic, minced (about 8-10 big cloves)
3 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into coin shapes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch dice
6 cups chicken broth (1 48-oz package)
3/4 cup rice (I prefer short-grain like Calrose)
green onion, sliced thin
garlic, minced, fried golden brown and crispy
egg, hard-cooked
fish sauce
lemon juice (or kalamansi juice, Filipino kumquat)

Preparation

Heat a stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add vegetable oil. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Season lightly with salt and pepper. (I season lightly especially if it's for a sick person; also, fish sauce will add saltiness later.) Cook, stirring, until fragrant and somewhat translucent. Add chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add rice, and simmer until rice is soft, about 30-40 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Before serving, remove the ginger coins (or leave it in to surprise people). Dish into bowls and garnish each helping with sliced green onions, crisp-fried garlic, and a slice of hard-boiled egg. Season to taste with the salty fish sauce and kalamansi juice. If desired, thin with a little more chicken stock or water.
NOTES * This thickens a lot when it cools, and is pretty porridge-y. It depends a lot on how \"sticky\" your rice is and how much broth it absorbs. if you wish, add water or chicken broth when reheating. * If you don't like discovering ginger by biting on it, you can microplane the peeled ginger until it's incognito. * If fish sauce is unavailable, just add salt and pepper to your individual serving. We use kalamansi (Filipino kumquat) juice, but lemon or lime wedges are an acceptable substitute.