A few simple ingredients, including chicken, cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil, and Chinese rice wine, go a long way in this dish. Claypot chicken rice is popular in several Asian nations (i.e., Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore); however, I’ve always used a rice cooker while preparing it at home.
So happy to have an excellent food blog with delectable dishes and food photos, share her clay pot chicken rice recipe with us all. I commend her work and patience in cooking this clay pot chicken rice. I’m extremely optimistic that you will like what you will see today!
Cooking a meal may be as simple as popping it in the microwave for a few seconds or as complex as braising it for hours in the oven. Despite the multitude of ‘modern’ appliances like the slow cooker, pressure cooker, and microwave, I must declare that I’m old school in possessing none of them.
Contrary to popular belief, I relish the waiting (as well as the effort) that comes with slow cooking. It’s like having front-row tickets to the Evolution of Dinner; you’re watching the change of food from its raw, organic condition into one capable of sending you to gustatory bliss.
When I started cooking for myself, I loved the “quick weeknight” recipes accessible on the pages of any magazine. These meals had a purpose: to keep me full until bedtime to have a decent night’s sleep.
On weekends, though, I most looked forward to spending time in the kitchen, relishing the four hours it took to turn perfectly smooth tomatoes into tomato confit or the month it took to salt-cure moist chunks of cod for homemade bacalao. That was my favorite part of the weekend!
I adored arranging for a meal, often weeks in advance, relishing the precursor of daily preparations before the big show. Compared to today’s high-tech equipment, these seemingly time-consuming and tedious procedures were designed to bring out whatever was made’s actual, authentic flavor.
In my mind, I imagined the final dish before I ever tried it. I’d have a satisfying feeling afterward, knowing that I’d worked hard for that lunch in a way that was real, solid, and unlike the typical definition of ‘work,’ we expose ourselves to every day.
A traditional Chinese clay pot meal, prepared by my mother in honor of slow cooking and the primordial, salivating emotions engendered by fighting with tantalizing odors on an empty stomach, is presented here.
It’s a snap to put together and tastes fantastic, but you’ll have to give it time, over low heat, to get there. Although traditionally cooked over a small and stocky charcoal burner, you may alternatively use a deep cast-iron pot or the ever-dependable rice cooker.
Instead, you’ll be missing out on the swirling smoke that seeps into the clay pot, enhancing the already rich flavor profile of rice wine and sesame oil. The timings in this recipe were optimized for clay pot usage on a gas or an electric stove, so modify the cooking time appropriately if you’re going to cook this over a charcoal fire.
Do not be alarmed if the bottom of your saucepan burns a little since this is what gives the meal a delightful crunch every time you bite into it. I propose the following dishes for a balanced supper and simple weekday dinner.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CHICKEN:
- 1 pound (450 grams/15 ounces) of deboned and cut chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 3 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
- 3 tbsp. oil from sesame seed
- 1 pinch salt
FOR THE CLAY POT RICE
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 3 minced cloves of garlic
- 1 finely sliced, 2-inch ginger root
- 1 oz. (28 g) dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in boiling water, and sliced
- Dried Chinese sausage, Lap Cheong, sliced to 2 ounces (56 grams), washed in cold water until the water runs clear, and then drained
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- ¾ cup water, at room temperature
- 5 oz. (140 g) (140 g) lush green veggies like bok choy, gai choy, dou miao, or spinach, washed and coarsely sliced
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
TO COOK THE CHICKEN, FOLLOW THESE STEPS:
- Pour the cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil, and salt over the chicken and stir thoroughly. Set the timer for 30 minutes, and then prepare the remainder of the ingredients.
RICE IN A CLAY POT:
- Garlic and ginger are fried until fragrant in a wok or a large frying pan over high heat. Add the marinated chicken and stir. Stir in the mushrooms and Chinese sausage after the beef has brown.
- If you’re using a clay pot, set it on a hob and turn the heat to low.
- When ready to serve, cook the rice in a wok over high heat, often turning to absorb the flavors of the other ingredients. Stir in the light soy sauce and sesame oil for 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and empty the wok into the clay pot. After adding the water, cover the saucepan and heat to medium-high.
- Leave the items to simmer for approximately an hour, check-in every 15 minutes, and give the rice a toss or two.
- Ten minutes after adding the veggies, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot.
- Drizzle the black soy sauce and sesame oil over the veggies and serve with the clay pot as your centerpiece.