Lugaw (Filipino-style Rice Congee)

Simmer deeply browned scrap chicken bones, rice, ginger, pandan leaves and lemongrass to make the best lugaw. Top with whatever you wish!

So, my younger daughter, Alex, just had her braces adjusted. Eating is uncomfortable and she asked for lugaw. Perfect timing because we had two bunches of chicken bones in the fridge to make broth in which to cook the rice.

Broth? Right. Broth. To be tasty and satisfying, lugaw has to be cooked in broth. And that makes the mushy rice more nutritious too because all the nutrients in the chicken bones get transferred to the cooking liquid and end up in the rice.

You can buy scrap bones (chicken neck and feet are especially good, and cheap too) but, in our case, we filleted a bunch of chicken thighs and breasts for two different dishes, and kept the bones for making broth.

Normally, I’d make the broth ahead of time, strain it and cook the rice in it. But I was pressed for time so I did a short cut.

The chicken bones were browned in a little cooking oil, unrinsed rice was added along with a stalk of lemongrass, a pair of pandan leaves and a few slices of ginger.

Water was poured in and everything was simmered for an hour and half. The effect, of course, was to make broth while the rice cooked. To coax out the starch from the rice grains, the lugaw was stirred often especially during the last half hour of cooking to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pan.

When the rice grains were mushy and the lugaw was thick, I just fished out the chicken bones, lemongrass, pandan leaves and ginger slices.

Lugaw (Filipino-style Rice Congee)

The trick to making tasty lugaw is to create a flavorful base in which to cook the rice. Browned chicken bones, pandan leaves, lemongrass and ginger are perfect to achieve that goal.

Course: Breakfast, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Modern Filipino

Keyword: congee, rice

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Servings: 3 people

Author: Connie Veneracion

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• ▢ chicken bones - more is better
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• ▢ ¾ cup rice - (medium-grain rice is ideal)
• ▢ 1 stalk lemongrass - tied into a knot
• ▢ 2 pandan leaves - tied together into a knot
• ▢ 3 to 4 slices ginger
• ▢ patis (fish sauce) - to taste

Instructions

• Wipe the chicken bones dry with paper towels.
• Heat the cooking oil in a sauce pan.
• Spread the chicken bones in the hot oil and brown all sides over medium-high heat (see notes after the recipe).
• Add the rice, lemongrass, pandan leaves and ginger slices.
• Pour in four cups of water.
• Simmer the rice and chicken bones, stirring occasionally.
• When the rice is cooked through, taste and add patis.
• If the mixture appears too thick (see notes after the recipe), add more water and continue simmering, stirring more often, until the rice grains burst and turn mushy.
• Fish out the chicken bones, lemongrass, pandan leaves and ginger before serving the lugaw.

Cook’s Notes

Why brown the chicken bones? For added flavor. Browning creates the Maillard reaction which not only changes the color of food but deepens the flavor too.

How much water you need to add depends on the rice you’re using. Newly harvested rice contains more moisture while older rice will require more liquid to turn soft and mushy.

If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.