2 lbs (1 kg) skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
1 tablespoon oil
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 large onion,thinly sliced
One 3-in (7.5 cm) piece peeled fresh ginger, cut into thin matchsticks
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 cups (500 g) uncooked medium-grain rice
8 cups (2 liters) water
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For garnish:
2 green onions (scallions), trimmed and thinly sliced (white and green parts)
Calamansi limes, cut in half (or lemon wedges)
Additional fish sauce
Using your hands, gently remove the skin from the chicken thighs. With a little bit of effort, you should be able to pull off the skin from each thigh in one piece. Pat the chicken skins dry with paper towels and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over moderately high heat. Lay the chiken skins flat, with the fat side down (the smooth side of the skin), into the pot. Press on the chiken skins with a spatula until the first side becomes brown and crispy, about 5 minutes. Flip the skins over and continue frying until the second side is brown and crispy, 3-5 minutes.
Transfer the crisped chicken skins to a plate lined with paper towels. Season the cracklings with salt and pepper and set aside for garnish.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pot. Add the garlic to the pot and fry until golden brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the pot and fry until golden brown and crisp, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the garlic to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside for garnish.
Add the onion and ginger to the remaining oil in the pot and cook until the onion becomes soft and translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the chicken thighs and fish sauce to the pot and stir to combine. Place the lid on the pot, reduce the heat to moderately-low and cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken meat just begins to turn white and releases some of its juices.
Uncover the pot and add the uncooked rice, stirring until the rice absorbs most of the liquid in the pot, 2-3 minutes. Pour the water into the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderately-low, and then simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring ocassionally.
Remove the chicken thighs from the pot and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove the chicken meat from the bone,s and then shred the chicken meat and discard the bones. Add the shredded meat back into the pot and stir in the 1 teaspoon of black pepper.
The porridge will thicken as the rice cooks and absorbs liquid. If the porridge becomes too thick after 30 minutes of simmering, more water can be added. If the porridge isn't thick enough, continue simmering until it reaches the desired consistency.
Soon the porridge into bowl and garnish with the crispy chicken cracklings, fried garlic and green onion. Serve with the calamansi limes (or lemen wedges) and additional fish sauce on the side.
Recipe created by Marvin Gapultos, found in the book The Adobo Road.