Masasrap!

I am eating the best arrozcaldo ever.

First, I chopped garlic and toasted it in some olive oil in a steel stock pot. I took it out of the pot before it turned brown.

Then I browned a package of drummettes. Take the time to brown them well and on all sides over medium high heat. Drop in about a third cup rice, and let the uncooked rice toast in the chicken oil. Crack a whole bunch of black pepper. Add as much ginger as you have the patience to grate. I just used my microplane grater. I also dropped in two bay leaves and a couple tablespoons of fish sauce patis. Oh, and one dried serrano pepper.

Dump in a whole can of chicken broth. Cover and raise heat to high.

When the broth starts to boil, turn it down to low and keep covered for 15 minutes.

Serve your arrozcaldo with the toasted garlic you set aside at the beginning, some dried pepper flakes, and a little squeeze of lemon.

This is not subtle cuisine, children; you should be hit over the head with the flavors of garlic, ginger, onion, and chicken. It's damn good, too.

When people come over, I use boneless chicken thighs. It's important to brown the chicken, so don't crowd the pan; you'll probably have to do little batches.