Clay Pot Chicken Rice

Yet another one of those favourite childhood dishes, Clay Pot Chicken Rice makes a regular appearance on our dinner table, there’s just something so wonderfully homestyle and old school in cooking in a clay pot, that I bring it out at the slightest excuse. Rice, stews and especially Asian style soups – I just love using the clay pot to cook them!

Handy Hints

Using Clay pots

Unless the instructions say otherwise, before first use, always submerge your clay pot and its lid in room temperature water overnight.

Gently rinse it with water the next day, brushing off any dust. If your clay pot is glazed, don’t scrub with anything harsh.

Warm your clay pot up on a low heat to begin with, letting it heat up slowly, before increasing the flame. Clay pots hate sudden changes in temperature.

For this reason, if cooking in the oven, start with a cool oven.

Wash your clay pot when it’s cooled down, not while hot.

Special Ingredients

Dried Shrimp – an essential ingredient in South East Asian cooking, can be left out here

Salted Fish – another common ingredient, I’ve successfully used anchovies in many recipes that call for it, but again, can be left out

Sausages – traditionally, Chinese sausages are used for this but as I don’t eat pork, I used ordinary chicken sausages. Chorizos should be rather good

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

400g Jasmine rice, rinsed and drained

300g boneless chicken, in bite size pieces

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, sliced widthwise

2″ ginger, in strips (julienned)

1 small star anise

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

2-3 sausages, in bite size pieces

1 tbsp dried shrimp (from Oriental stores, optional)

small 1″ size salted fish (again, from Oriental stores, optional), chopped up pretty small

2 large handfuls Pak Choi or Chinese cabbage, shredded (spinach will work too)

10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

dash white pepper

300ml water

200ml light chicken stock (homemade or good quality shop bought)

Marinade for the chicken

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp rice wine

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch/cornflour

Garnish

2 spring onions, sliced thinly

1 red chilli, spice level to your taste

METHOD

1. Marinade the chicken and leave aside for 30 minutes.

2. Let’s get the rice on in the claypot and while it’s cooking we’ll do the meat separately. Bring the water and stock to a boil in the clay pot and add the rice. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat and cook, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. In the meantime, heat a frying pan or wok on medium heat and add the sesame oil to it.

4. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté for a minute, on medium heat.

5. Add the garlic, , star anise, dried shrimp, salted fish and ginger and cook for another minute.

6. Add the chicken, increase the heat and fry the chicken for about 5 minutes.

7. Next, the sausages, oyster & soy sauces, mushrooms and white pepper go in. Give it all a good stir and cook for 2 minutes.

8. At the end of the 10 minute cooking time for the rice, add the chicken & sausage mix as well as the vegetables (pak choi) you’re using to the rice, placing it gentle over the rice.

9. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes.

10. Serve immediately, garnished with the spring onions and chillies.