Arroz Caldo Instant Pot Recipe | Filipino Recipe (2024)

February 25, 2024November 17, 2020 by Kathleen

You have to try our Arroz Caldo Instant Pot Recipe. Prepare the ingredients for 5 minutes, set to 25 minutes on the Instant Pot and leave. Dinner will be ready when you get back.

Arroz Caldo VS Lugaw

Arroz Caldo is a Filipino dish that translates to rice broth. The difference between Arroz Caldo VS Lugaw is that arroz caldo’s flavor comes from a combination of the broth from the chicken bone, ginger, and fish sauce and has chicken pieces in it while lugaw is the plain version and its ingredients are only rice, water, and salt. You may encounter some lugaw recipes that uses chicken bouillon but originally it is only flavored with salt. Lugaw is also different from the Chinese Congee which is prepared differently.

When serving Arroz Caldo, you can either use whole thigh or drumstick pieces or you can also shred the chicken pieces and not serve the bone but it would be more work. Cooking the Arroz Caldo in the Instant Pot makes the work easier though, you just saute the aromatics for 2 minutes then cook all the ingredients and come back when it’s cooked.

Arroz Caldo is my go-to Filipino Instant Pot Recipe and it’s the first thing I cooked on the Instant Pot when I received it many Christmases ago but I’ve recently expanded my Filipino recipes to include Chicken Adobo, Pinakbet, Kare-Kare, and Sinigang.

disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links.

Chicken Arroz Caldo Instant Pot Recipe – Ingredients:

• 1tbsp butter or olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 thumb size ginger, julliened
• 3 pcs. chicken thigh, cut into half to make 6pcs.
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 3.5 cups water
• 1/2 lemon
• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• chopped green onion or roasted garlic chips as topping optional

How to Make Arroz Caldo in an Instant Pot

Cooking Arroz Caldo in an Instant Pot is so easy that I’ve already cooked it over a dozen times since I got the Instant pot for Christmas. To cook Arroz Caldo in the Instant Pot, you just saute the ginger and onion for about 2 minutes then you add all the ingredients, close the lid and let it cook. Prep time is 5 minutes.

To cook the Arroz Caldo in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, it would take around 15 minutes to build pressure before it starts the cooking countdown of 25 minutes then give it another 5 minutes to release steam. This Arroz Caldo recipe fills the Instant Pot halfway. It can feed 3-4 but since it’s yummy, it can be finished by 2 people easily. I’m grinning over here coz’ I really loved it and may have finished other people’s share. LOL!

Arroz Caldo Instant Pot Recipe

• Press “Saute” button on the Instant Pot and add cooking oil once heated.
• Saute the onion and ginger in the oil for 2 minutes then press CANCEL.
• Place the chicken, water, rice, lemon, fish sauce, salt, and pepper in the Instant Pot.
• Stir to properly distribute the ingredients before cooking.
• Cover your instant pot. Make sure the vent is in a sealed position.
• Press SOUP. It has to be on “normal setting” (options are low, normal and more) and 25 minutes, adjust accordingly using “adjust” button and “+” button if the settings is on low or time is less than 25 minutes.
• Once it’s cooked, let the Instant Pot pressure cooker release steam before opening.
• Arroz Caldo is ready to eat. You may add a topping like a hard-boiled egg (slice in half), fried garlic chips, and chopped green onions.

Instant Pot Vent

You’d have to release steam once you’re done cooking on an Instant Pot before you can open it. My brother in law who got us this Instant pot suggested I use a wooden spoon and just hit the vent so it would turn and steam would come out.

For Arroz Caldo, I used the silicone mitts that came with the Instant Pot to slightly steam the Instant Pot instead of going full blast (turning all the way) since it’s not just steam that comes out. It’s more of my foamy arroz caldo spewing all over the place. When I did the French Dip, only steam came out.

Hungry now? Make our Instant Pot Arroz Caldo Recipe. This Filipino Arroz Caldo Recipe or lugaw instant pot takes 5 minutes to prep, leave it to do other things and lunch or dinner is ready soon.

You never have to worry about soup spilling over the stove and I promise this meal is so comforting, rainy day or any day.

We’ve also made French Dip on the Instant Pot. Recipe to follow. I look forward to making more Filipino Food Instant Pot Recipes, when you get the chance, try our chicken adobo instant pot recipe, Kare-Kare Instant Pot Recipe, and Pinakbet Instant Pot Recipe.

Arroz Caldo Toppings

You can serve our Instant Pot Arroz Caldo without any toppings as it is already good by itself but you can also add toppings like a sliced hard-boiled egg, fried garlic chips, chopped green onions, or a combination of all three. This Arroz Caldo Instant Pot Recipe has been tried and tested a few times so you don’t need to add more lemon or fish sauce than what I’ve listed on the recipe but Filipinos do love squeezing more calamansi or lemon and a dash of fish sauce right when you serve them their bowl of Arroz Caldo. Condiments like soy sauce, vinegar, sili (chili), and patis (fish sauce) are typically found on the dining table at Filipino restaurants on tiny serving cruets as Filipinos love to dip or add more flavor to their food.

More Instant Pot Filipino Recipes:

• Chicken Tinola Instant Pot Recipe
• Chicken Afritada Instant Pot Recipe
• Kare-Kare Instant Pot Recipe
• Bulalo Instant Pot Recipe
• Sinigang na Baboy Instant Pot Recipe
• Pinakbet Instant Pot Recipe
• Chicken Adobo Instant Pot Recipe
• Chicken Curry Instant Pot Recipe
• Beef Caldereta Instant Pot Recipe

Arroz Caldo Instant Pot

Yield: 3

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter or olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 thumb size ginger, julienned
• 3 pcs. chicken thigh, cut to half or as
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 3.5 cups water
• 1/2 lemon
• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Optional Topping: Chopped green onion or roasted garlic chips or a hard-boiled egg

Instructions

1. Press SAUTE on the Instant Pot.
2. Once heated, add cooking oil.
3. Saute the onion and ginger in the oil for about 2 minutes.
4. Press CANCEL to stop cooking.
5. Add the chicken pieces, water, and all the seasonings. Stir the ingredients before cooking.
6. Close the Instant Pot lid and seal the vent.
7. Press SOUP, adjust to Normal Setting and adjust the time to 25 minutes.
8. Once it is done cooking (you'll hear a beep. Let the Instant Pot release steam before opening.

Notes

This recipe was updated on 11/16/20 to lower the water by half a cup and lower the pepper by half a teaspoon.

If you want to double the recipe, double everything but instead of 1 whole lemon, you'll need about 1.25 lemon.

Pin for later – Arroz Caldo Instant Pot Recipe: