This recipe is from Inside the Artist’s Kitchen, a food and arts focused blog based in Chicago. They are publishing a vegan Filipino food focused artists cookbook. General donations for a PDF copy of the book are routing through paypal, and pre-orders of the book- available in July- are through Etsy. Check it out!
Arroz Caldo is one of the key dishes of the Philippines and is very telling of the cultural fusions that have created Filipino culture and cuisine. The name means“rice soup”in Spanish, but the dish is widely known to be Chinese in origin.
It is similar in form to the delicious and ever-versatile congee, though Arroz Caldo generally has a soupier consistency. It is traditionally made with chicken and chicken stock. While vegetable stock is a fine alternative, it often lacks the deep earthy flavors of the traditional version. Mushrooms help to balance the palate and adds a woodsy earthy bite.
Vegan Arroz Caldo
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground seitan (vegan beef substitute)
- 4-5 pieces dried shitake mushrooms
- 5 button mushrooms, sliced
- One 1-oz, (25 g) piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 2 green onions (scallions)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 8 cups (2 liters) vegetable stock
- 1 cup (200 g) uncooked long-grain rice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tsptruffle oil (optional)
Instructions
- 1 Soak 3 to 4 dried shiitake mushrooms or 1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms in 4 cups hot water for 20 minutes until mushrooms has softened. Slice the reconstituted shiitake mushrooms thinly.
- 2 Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onions, ginger, and garlic and heat till onions are golden. Toss the seitan, mushrooms, green onions, and soy sauce. Continue tossing.
- 3 Add the rice and toss until evenly incorporated. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.
- 4 Reduce the heat to low-medium and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring the rice periodically to prevent sticking. The Arroz Caldo is ready when the rice is tender.
- 5 Season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the toasted garlic and green onions. For extra mushroom flavor, drizzle a little truffle oil before serving.
