What Is Lugaw?
Lugaw, also spelled lugao, is a Filipino rice porridge. Traditionally, lugaw is made with white rice, ginger, garlic and onion. Some lugaw recipes (like the one in this video) include chicken for a savory boost. Lugaw is warm and comforting, similar to a bowl of your favorite well-cooked oatmeal.
Many Filipinos like to enjoy lugaw for breakfast or as a snack. It’s also one of their favorite dishes to make when they’re sick or on rainy and cold days when they need a cozy meal. In this video, you’ll learn how to make lugaw in your own kitchen.
How to Make Lugaw
Ready to try delicious lugaw for yourself? Here are the ingredients and instructions you’ll need to make your own warm rice porridge. Watch the video to see the process, step by step.
Ingredients for Lugaw
1 c. medium-grain white rice
10 c. water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
½ tsp. salt
1 chicken breast, sliced thin
1 tbsp. ginger, minced
1 tbsp. cooking oil
3 garlic cloves, diced
1 green onion, chopped
Instructions for Lugaw
Add rice, water, bouillon cubes and salt to a large pot. Boil, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Reduce heat; simmer 15 more minutes.
Add chicken and ginger. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes or until chicken is done.
In a skillet, brown garlic in oil for 1-2 minutes. Drain on a paper towel.
Serve topped with crispy garlic and green onion.
Read the Full Video Transcript: Lugaw Recipe
This transcript reflects the spoken content of the video and is provided for accessibility and reference.
Hey, guys. Today we're making lugaw. This is a Filipino rice porridge, and it is pure comfort in a bowl. This is a dish that Filipinos often see as a comfort dish, similar to how Western families would see chicken noodle soup, for example.
I actually grew up eating this dish a lot. I called it arroz caldo, though, and that's because, fun fact about the Philippines, is that there's tons of different dialects and languages that span over their thousands of islands. And so, the same dish can be called different names in different places. And so that's a really unique thing about food in the Philippines.
Like I said, I grew up eating this dish, and that's because my mom is Filipino. My parents actually live in the Philippines now. Hi, Mom and Dad. And so that's why this dish is really special to me. Um, somebody else very special to me also lives in the Philippines. She's right here.
This is a child that I sponsor through Compassion International, and I've been sponsoring her for over 10 years. And so, it's been really cool to just come alongside her and see her grow and thrive and become all God's called her to be through partnering with Compassion International. We'll get into more of that a little bit later, but for now, let's get to cooking.
Here is everything you're going to need for this recipe right here. Some chicken thinly sliced. About a cup of white rice, green scallions, a tablespoon of ginger, a little bit of salt and four cubes of chicken bouillon. So, you're going to bring 10 cups of water to a boil while mixing in your cup of rice, after you've rinsed it, of course. Four bouillon cubes, half a teaspoon of salt, and then you're going to constantly stir that for about 10 minutes.
Okay, so after you've stirred this for about 10 minutes and the rice comes to a boil, you're going to turn the heat down to low and let that simmer for about 15 more minutes until the rice is fully cooked. While that simmers, did you know that the Philippines is the second-largest archipelago in the entire world? That's because the Philippines has 7,600 different islands that encompass the entire country.
So that's why there's about 170 different languages and dialects that span across all these different islands that make up the Philippines. After that's simmered for about 15 minutes, we're going to add in our chicken and our ginger, about a tablespoon.
Pick that heat back up to about a medium-high heat and let that cook, stirring occasionally for about 15 more minutes. While that chicken continues to cook, we're actually going to brown a little bit of garlic here to add at the end of this meal. All right. And now we're done cooking. So we're going to plate it up.
So grab a bowl. Ladle it up. Add a little bit of that brown garlic and some green onions. Smells amazing. Like I said earlier, I've been sponsoring a kid through Compassion International in the Philippines for a little bit over 10 years now. Compassion actually has been partnering in the Philippines for over 50 years. They partner through local churches that provide children in poverty essentials like medical care, education, food, clean water and a loving community, all centered around the hope of the gospel.
They've been serving over 100,000 children in the Philippines so far. And if you're interested in learning more about what that looks like or other countries that Compassion partners with, we'll drop a link in the description for you. All right. Well, there you have it: lugaw, a Filipino rice porridge, and it is masarap. That means delicious, and trust me, it is. If you decide to give this recipe a try, let us know in the comments what you think.