Filipino – Lugaw

by Hina Alam

ABOUT THE DISH

Lugaw or Lugao is a glutinous rice or a porridge type of dish which only requires 5-6 ingredients to make. It is made through cooking ginger and onions together and adding rice in them. This rice is cooked until a creamy consistency is obtained just like an Italian risotto. There are many dishes in the Philippines which are made from rice and the Filipinos really enjoy these type of dishes. These dishes act like an comfort food for them. After a hectic day they can easily eat it and rest. This dish is one of them. It has a great cultural background and a great food to eat before starting your day. Lugaw is a dish which can be eaten as a dessert and a savory dish as well. You just need to add different ingredients and viola the context of this dish changes as a whole. It is also a celebratory dish as when the Chinese new year arrives it is served throughout the Philippines because this dish has a Chinese background and the people here take these traditions very seriously. The fact that this dish only requires a few ingredients is just amazing. There are a few dishes which give out much flavor through this few ingredients and this dish is one of them.

CHINESE ORIGIN AND HISTORY

As I have discussed in my many articles that many of the cuisines of the Philippines have a Chinese background. This dish is also one of them. Just like Philippines China was also at the top of cultivating rice and when the Chinese came to the Philippines they brought there traits, traditions and their food with them . When the people of the Philippines came to understand that the Chinese people are not so much different from them and they share quite a few things common between them , they started to inherit their ways. This involved their ways of living , their choice of clothing and their ways of making food. There were already quite a few dishes in the Philippines which included rice but these dishes did not have much flavor but when they saw Chinese people making the same dishes with so much flavor they were keen on adapting their ways and as the time went by they did adopted most of their food and soon more and more dishes came into existence which is now very much part of the history of the Philippines. This dish was also introduced by the Chinese people and throughout the years it has changed so much. Now there are many versions of it.

PURPOSE OF THIS DISH

The main purpose of this dish was to give the people something that was easy to eat and something that could help them nutrition wise. This dish gives great amount of flavor with respect to less ingredients used and this is what makes it very special. The ingredients used in it are all very much common in the country and thus a cultural dish is made which will be remembered for a long time.

VARIANTS

Lugaw is a dish which has variants in both aspects desserts and savory dishes.

• SAVORY
• DESSERT

SAVORY

• GOTO : It is Lugaw dish which is made from tripe and ginger. Finally in the end it is topped with more garlic and scallions

• ARROZ CALDO: It is a Lugaw which is made from ginger , onions and rice and then at the end a hard boiled egg is added on top of it with some parsley and garlic.

DESSERT:

• GINATAANG MAIS: It is Lugaw made from coconut milk.

• CHAMPORADO: A type of Lugaw made from gluten rice and chocolate.

• BINIGNIT: It is made from coconut milk and some tropical fruits

• GINITAANG MUNGGO: It is made from coconut milk along with mung beans and corn.

INGREDIENTS REQUIRED TO MAKE IT

• Glutinous rice 2 cups

• 1 ginger

• Garlic 3 cloves (minced)

• Onion 1 (Diced)

• Water 7-8 cups
• Fish sauce 2 tbsp.

• Egg (for boiling)

• Saffron

• Parsley

• Salt

• Pepper

STEPS TO MAKE IT

• Take a pan and add some oil in it over a medium heat.
• Chop some ginger and add it into the pan. Also add some garlic as well.
• Add the chopped onions as well and cook until a brown color is formed.
• Then add the glutinous rice.
• Cook this rice for about 15 minutes and add water according to it.
• Also add some fish sauce and stir.
• You have to keep stirring the rice and check for creamy consistency.
• Add some salt and pepper as well and mix.
• Cook the rice for about 45 minutes more until the desired creamy texture is obtained.
• Once done take it out in a bowl and add an half boiled egg in the bowl.
• Also chop some parsley and sprinkle over the Lugaw.
• Your dish is made
• Enjoy

TIME NEEDED TO MAKE IT

PREPERATION TIME : 5 minutes
COOKING TIME : 55 minutes
TOTAL TIME : 1 Hour
YIELDS : 3-4 minutes

Calories 510
Total Fat 13.4 g
Cholesterol 270mg
Total Carbohydrates 63g
Sugars 0.7g
Protein 34g
Sodium 1003mg
Potassium 478mg