Claypot Chicken Rice

I've always loved the tasty claypot rice from the street stalls in Hong Kong. Actually been craving for it. So I've been trying to replicate it at home in the past couple of months... to some limited success. :P

The rice is supposed to form a fragrant brown crispy layer around the bottom of the claypot

However, the many times I've tried cooking it, I always seemed to burn that layer. The taste and flavour of the chicken was the same, but I'm not really fond of eating burnt rice.

So as a work around, I let the rice cook on the stove top for about 15 mins, while that was cooking, pre-heat the oven to about 180C then place the marinated chicken over the semi-cooked rice, then finish the dish in the oven instead of keeping it over the stove top.

Here is the recipe...

Claypot Chicken Rice

• 2 ½ cups rice (washed and drained)
• 2 Chinese sausage (sliced diagonally)
• 1 ½ cm thick piece salted fish
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• water from the soaked mushrooms

Marinade:

• 3 chicken pieces (Thigh pieces or Drumstick - cut into 3cm wide pieces)
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
• 1 thumbsized piece of ginger
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon corn flour
• 5 Chinese mushrooms (soaked, stalk removed, cut into half - water reserved)

Method:

1. Mix chicken, mushrooms with marinade and let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Put rice and the reserved water from the soaked mushrooms into a claypot, add in salted fish, cover and let simmer over a lower fire till the rice is semi-cooked. (This should take about 15 minutes)
3. Pre-heat oven to 180C
4. Pour the marinated chicken, mushrooms and chinese sausages over the rice
5. Cover the claypot and put into the oven
6. Leave for about 15-20 mins until the chicken is cooked.
7. Serve by drizzling the dark soy sauce over the chicken.

If you like the extra bit of semi-burnt rice, then put the claypot back on top of the stove and keep it on low heat for about 3 mins.