Event Horizon

I've never been particularly fond of chicken, unless you count my childhood taste for McDonald's chicken nuggets, or the roast chicken and mashed potatoes that I used to make when living with my mom and stepdad. That usually goes double for Filipino chicken-only dishes -- while I love to eat pancit and other mixed-meat dishes, chicken adobo does nothing for me but turn my stomach. (I'm more partial to beef dishes.)

The one exception to this would have to be arroz caldo (lit. "hot rice"), a thick chicken-and-rice soup adapted from the Chinese dish called congee. I love making it and eating it. And since (as usual) I'm cooking from memory when it comes to soups, I found a simple version of an arroz caldo recipe to share with you all.

I usually like to add chopped celery or bok choy stalks for flavor. The recipe calls for patis -- fish sauce. You can usually find fish sauce (also called nuoc nam or nam pla) in the Asian aisle of major grocery stores. It might not seem like a very attractive ingredient -- it is quite pungent and can be unfamiliar to Western palates -- but trust me, it's quite good. Feel free, however, to reduce the amount or omit the ingredient.

( Iconsam's Arroz Caldo )

A few substitution notes from Dani:
* Generally, the goal is to cook the arroz caldo long enough the that chicken falls off the bone. If you'd rather not deal with picking the drumstick or thigh bones out prior to serving, chopped chicken breast or tenderloin can be used instead.
* If you have no fresh ginger, dried ground ginger can be used. This recipe calls for about two tablespoons of fresh, so two teaspoons of dried ginger can be used as a substitute.
* Likewise, the chicken stock called for can be replaced with water. This makes the finished soup slightly less flavorful, but if you add the vegetables or increase the spices to taste, the finished product will still be just as tasty.

Happy cooking!

Taken from amberlorien

Rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...They MUST be real places, names, things...NOTHING made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. Also, you CAN'T use your name for the Boy/girl name question.

"D"

Your Name: Danielle

Famous Artist/Band/Musician: Danzig

4 letter word: dark

Street name: D Street (it's in Tacoma!)

Colour: #DAA520 ...okay, fine! "Denim Blue"

Gifts/present: Dark Chocolate

Vehicle: Dodge Ram

Animal: dromedary camel

TV Show: Doug...but not "Disney's Doug", because that sucked.

Country: Denmark

Boy Name: Darren

Girl Name: Delilah

Alcoholic drink: Daquiri (and since Amber couldn't come up with one: Amaretto Sour ^_^

Occupation: dish washer

Flower: dahlia

Celebrity: Dashiell Hammett

Food: Dinengdeng (it's Ilokano food)***

Something found in a kitchen: disinfectant spray

Reason for Being Late: ...don't have a watch! (yeah, maybe that's cheating...)

Cartoon Character: Deirdre, the Starlight Girl (JEM)

Something You Shout: Dammit!


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Dinengdeng (also called Pinakbet)
Ingredients:

2 pieces bangus (milkfish), halved and grilled
1 bundle sitaw (stringbeans), cut into 2" pieces
2 cups squash or eggplant, peeled and cubed
6 pieces okra, halved
1 big ampalaya (bitter melon), cut into 6 parts
2 cups water
3 tablespoons, or to taste, bagoong isda (anchovy paste)

Procedure:
1. Boil the water, and stir in the bagoong.
2. Add in all the vegetables, lower heat to a gentle boil.
3. When the vegetables are about half-cooked, add bangus; then cover pot and lower heat to a simmer.
4. Let it stew to marry the flavors. Remove from heat and serve.