There's nothing like kicking back, watching a season of Friends on DVD and eating some great comfort food on a Sunday night.

I think Friends is the best thing to happen on TV, until now - 10 years after the series ended (2004). I also loved Gilmore Girls, but the witty banters and obscure references got lost somewhere around season 4.

Arroz Caldo is derived from the Spanish words that mean 'special lugaw (porridge)'. Kidding! But it is some kind of special.

Razon's, the place with the best Halo-halo in town, also happens to serve the best Arrozcaldo, in my opinion. But this version fares with it well:

Pinoy Chicken Arroz Caldo

Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: 30 min | Total time: 40 min

Ingredients:
Short grain rice
chicken portions
soup stock, chicken or vegetable
garlic cloves, minced
Ginger, thinly julienned
shallots, sliced
eggs, hard boiled
chives, chopped
Kasubah (safflower; Saffron would be great if they weren't too expensive)
cooking oil
ground pepper
salt
fish sauce (patis)
calamansi (lemon)

Instructions:

1. First, but optional: Boil the chicken until half-cooked and save the soup stock.
2. In a large pot, saute onions and ginger and add the soup stock.
3. Add the rice and boil for 8 minutes. After that, reduce the flame to a simmer.
4. Throw in about a tablespoon of Safflower - giving it a yellowing tinge. Season with salt and pepper.
5. In a separate pan, fry the chicken clean (just salt and pepper as seasoning).
6. Fry garlic until crispy brown.
7. Serve the Arrozcaldo topped with fresh shallots, crispy garlic, hardboiled eggs and a side of chicken. Use fish sauce and calamansi as seasoning.