Arroz is rice; caldo means hot. Despite its Spanish name, this dish is the Filipino version of the Chinese congee or porridge.
Although not available in all wet markets, premature chicken eggs can be bought with liver and gizzards. These eggs have not yet formed shells and are mostly just yolks. They are rich and delicious and make the usual arroz caldo more interesting and special. If unavailable, just double the amount of chicken meat.
Kasubha is the dried stamen of a local plant. It is not saffron. It does not impasrt any distinct flavor. Kasubha is available as fine short reddish brown threads. It is used to give arroz caldo a reddish tint.
I have a week old of this amazing dish. My mom was sweet enough to “baon” me some seven days ago when they visited. I am now getting a chance to try it after a week of eating Vietnamese food from the restaurant, which all consist of fish sauce, fish sauce and, did I mention fish sauce? Yeah, fish sauce aka the Vietnamese vinaigrette or the Filipino patis. Haha Im so ready to visit home again.
Mmmm. *drools*
