Our family’s traditional lugaw recipe is the go-to for rainy or cold days. Topped with toasted garlic, scallions, a boiled egg, and crushed pork rinds for crunch, it’s the ultimate Filipino comfort food!
My mom would always make this for us during particularly snowy days or rainy seasons here in Canada (sometimes she’d even use leftover rice to clean out the fridge as the perfect excuse to make lugaw!)
Ingredients and Substitutions
*The Recipe Card below includes all the full measurements for these ingredients!
Onion, garlic, ginger: These are the base aromatics used for almost all Filipino dishes, forming that classic aromatic base.
Rice: My family typically uses Jasmine rice for this recipe. Be sure to rinse the rice at least three times prior to using!
Chicken stock: Simmering the rice grains in the stock will give the porridge a slightly meatier, savory taste. Feel free to use water or vegetable stock as substitutes, though the flavor will just be slightly lighter.
Black pepper, fish sauce, salt: You can adjust these seasonings according to preference. Fish sauce can be omitted if desired, just season with more salt as needed.
Toppings (egg, fried garlic, green onions, calamansi, chicharron): While these are the classic toppings used for most lugaw recipes, you can always omit some of them if you’d like. Calamansi can be substituted with wedges of lemon or lime. Chicharron is a Filipino pork rind snack that you can purchase in most Filipino or Asian groceries, giving the porridge a crunchy textural element.
Instructions
*The Recipe Card below includes all the full detailed instructions!
Sauté the aromatics until fragrant.
Add in the rinsed rice and chicken stock. Season with black pepper and fish sauce.
Bring to a boil, then let simmer to cook the rice.
Pour in the remaining 1 cup of stock and the safflower. Add additional stock or water to achieve your desired porridge consistency.
Cooking Tips
Prepare your toppings while the lugaw is simmering: To save on time, you can prepare the toppings while the rice is softening, which gives you around 30 minutes of free time to do so. If you’d rather not multitask, you can also do this before or after you’ve finished cooking.
Adjust to preference: Once cooked, taste and adjust accordingly. If you’d like it a tad more salty, add more salt or fish sauce accordingly. If you want to change the consistency of the porridge, either add more stock to make it more liquid, or continue simmering for a few more minutes to achieve a thicker consistency.
You can customize!: I like to think of this rice porridge as a blank slate -feel free to experiment with other flavors or toppings to add some variety! Ideas could include chili oil drizzled on top or adding extra aromatics such as lemongrass.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
How do I store leftovers?
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4-5 days in an airtight container.
To reheat, simply warm the porridge in the microwave or in a saucepan, adjusting with more water or chicken stock if necessary to adjust its consistency.
What’s the difference between Lugaw, Arroz Caldo, and Goto?
I like to think of Arroz Caldo as the more complex sibling of Lugaw. Arroz Caldo is slightly more heartier, containing chunks of chicken in the porridge, and with a deeper, heavier chicken taste.
Goto is essentially the beef version of lugaw. It consists of beef stock and beef tripe as the protein component.
Looking for more easy Filipino dishes? Try some of our favorites:
Lugaw (Filipino Rice Porridge)
3
servings30
minutes20
minutes50
minutesOur family’s traditional lugaw recipe is the go-to for rainy or cold days. Topped with toasted garlic, scallions, a boiled egg, and crushed pork rinds for crunch, it’s the ultimate Filipino comfort food!
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Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp ginger, julienned
1 tbsp oil, for sautéing
1/2 cup white Jasmine rice, rinsed
4 cups chicken stock, reserving
1 cup for later1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce
Salt, to taste
1/4 tsp safflower, optional
- Toppings
Large egg, boiled (1 egg per person)
Fried minced garlic (can be store-bought or homemade)
Green onion, chopped
Calamansi, halved (may also use lemon or lime), for squeezing on top
Chicharron, crushed
Directions
- In a pot over medium heat, sauté the onions with oil until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Then add in the garlic and ginger, and continue to sauté for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add in the rinsed rice and 3 cups of stock. Season with black pepper and fish sauce. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, then simmer with a lid for 30 minutes on medium-low, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from sticking/burning.
- After 30 minutes, pour in the remaining 1 cup of stock and the safflower. Stir to combine and season with more salt and/or pepper to taste, if needed. Add additional stock or water to achieve your desired porridge consistency.
- Scoop portions of the lugaw into serving bowls. Top with the boiled egg, fried garlic, green onion, and chicharron. Squeeze a generous amount of calamansi juice on top to taste. Enjoy!
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I’ve been dying to eat and make arroz caldo since I moved out of aunts house. THANKS FOR THE RECIPE
Ofcourse! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂
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Just made this and it turned out great! If I wanted to make a larger portion would I just double or triple everything?
Hi Cynthia,
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂 Yes, to make a larger portion, you can simply double or triple the ingredients in a larger pot!
Just like moms used to make it. Garlicky creaminess
Mom’s cooking is always the best!
So good!! I always forget the water to rice ratio and this recipe is my go to. Some times i even add chayote just to have some veggie. But this is a huge comfort food for me, so quick and simple
Hi Maliyah, thanks for giving the recipe a try 🙂 Chayote sounds delicious!
I was craving my moms lugaw. I’m so glad I decided to try the recipe. It was so good! Tastes almost like my moms, thank you!
Hi Angeline, so happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂