Bringhe is the perfect one-pot meal for all your special celebrations! Made with glutinous rice, chicken, chorizo de bilbao, vegetables, and coconut milk, this Filipino-style Paella is hearty, tasty, and sure to be a crowd favorite.
No Kapampangan party or celebration is complete without Bringhe on the menu. Growing up in Tarlac, I always looked forward to fiestas, birthdays, or holidays because it meant a big kawa of this Filipino-style paella to enjoy.
Now that I am older and have learned to cook this dish myself, I wonder why it’s mostly reserved for special occasions when it’s so easy to make and uses relatively inexpensive ingredients. It’s the perfect dinner for busy weeknights as it cooks in one pan and is ready in an hour!
What is Bringhe
Bringhe, which is said to have originated from the northern province of Pampanga, is the Filipino’s indigenization of the Spanish paella. While the latter is made of bomba or arborio rice flavored with saffron, our local version is glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and turmeric powder, giving it its distinct flavor and color.
Ingredients
The rice dish can be a simple affair of chicken, chorizo de Bilbao, carrots, green peas, and raisins like our recipe below or an elaborate array of various meat, seafood, and vegetables. Make it extra special with the selection below!
- Bone-in or boneless chicken
- Pork shoulder
- Prawns
- Chorizo de Bilbao
- Ham
- Vienna sausage
- Chicken liver and gizzard
- Green peas
- Carrots
- Bell peppers
- Potatoes
- Raisins.
Garnishes such as quartered hard-boiled eggs, carrot florets, and bell pepper strips are often used for presentation.
Cooking tips
Cooking tips
- The recipe calls for unwashed rice. If you prefer to wash the rice, make sure to drain well using a fine-mesh sieve as the extra moisture might affect consistency and make the bringhe too wet or mushy.
- The dish traditionally uses cut-up bone-in chicken parts, but I like to use boneless chicken meat as they’re easier to eat with no bones to pick through.
- Turmeric powder is added for flavor and color. If you prefer, you can swap the powder with one thumb-sized fresh turmeric or luyang dilaw. Saute the peeled and julienned root with the onions and garlic to draw out the yellow color.
- When the liquid is mostly absorbed, cover the rice mixture with banana leaves and then cover tightly to add aroma and to seal in the heat.
- The best part of paella in my opinion is what’s called “socarrat” or dry crust on the bottom. After the rice is tender, transfer to a wide pan lined with banana leaves. Cover with banana leaves, and cook on medium heat until the bottom forms a crust.
How to serve and store
- Bringhe is usually served for town fiestas, Noche Buena, and other special gatherings along with other Kapampangan favorites such as sipo egg and tibok-tibok.
- For food safety, do not keep the dish at room temperature for more than 2 hours as it contains coconut milk that might spoil quickly especially in hot weather.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months.
- Reheat single portions in the microwave at 2 to 3-minute intervals until heated through. For larger servings, transfer to an oven-safe dish, cover with film, and heat in a 350 F oven.
More fiesta favorites
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 pieces (about 5 ounces) chorizo de bilbao, sliced into 1/2 inch thick
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 cups glutinous rice, unwashed
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
- 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, cored and cut into strips
- 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, cored and cut into strips
- 1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 teaspoons turmeric powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
- red bell pepper strips
- green red bell pepper strips
- carrot florets
Additional Equipment
- banana leaves wilted
Instructions
- In a wide, thick-bottomed skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add chorizo de bilbao and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 to 5 minutes or until color changes and lightly browned. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In the pan, heat another tablespoon of oil. Add onions and garlic and cook until softened.
- Add rice and cook, stirring regularly, for about 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly toasted.
- Add fish sauce and continue to cook for 1 minute.
- Add the coconut milk, broth, chicken, chorizo de bilbao, julienned carrots, bell peppers, green peas, and raisins.
- Add turmeric powder and stir to combine.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil for about 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cover the rice mixture with banana leaves, cover the pan with lid, and continue to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is fully cooked and liquid is absorbed.
- If you like to toast the bottom, transfer the rice to a wide pan lined with banana leaves, cover with banana leaves, and cook on medium heat until it forms “socarrat” (crust). Flip the rice so the toasted bottom goes to the top and continue to cook to again form a crust.
- To serve, garnish with red and green bell peppers, hardboiled eggs, and carrot florets.
Notes
Video
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Palmfairy says
This may be a dumb question, but when you say 1 CUP (rice) do you mean measuring cup or the one that goes with the rice cooker?
Sorry, newbie here!
Lalaine Manalo says
There’s no dumb question 🙂 I believe the measuring cup that comes with the rice cooker is one cup 🙂
Jolly says
Hi lalaine what would be a great substitute for chorizo de Bilbao? Cannot find it here in Canada… thanks!
Lalaine Manalo says
You can use ham or bacon 🙂
Bernadette Olitres says
Thanks for the looking yummy and simple recipes