Claypot Chicken Rice

Ingredients

Chicken

• 350 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, stems removed, sliced
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)

Rice

• 200 g (1 cup) jasmine rice
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) water
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 thin slices ginger
• 1 halal chicken sausage, sliced (optional)
• 15 g salted fish (ikan masin), diced (optional)

To finish

• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 spring onion, sliced
• 2 stalks choy sum, blanched (optional)

Method

1. Mix the chicken and mushrooms with the oyster sauce, soy sauces, sesame oil, sugar, pepper and cornflour. Set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Rinse the rice 2–3 times until the water is almost clear, then drain well. Stir the finishing sauce ingredients together.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a 1.5 L clay pot over medium heat. Fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, add the rice and stir for 1 minute, then pour in the 300 ml water and bring to a boil.
4. Boil for 5–7 minutes until the water has dropped to the level of the rice and small craters appear on top. Spread the chicken, mushrooms, sausage and salted fish over the rice, cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
5. Drizzle the remaining 1 tbsp oil around the inside edge of the pot, cover again and cook for 5–8 minutes on low-medium heat, turning the pot a quarter turn every 2 minutes, until you hear the rice crackle and a crust forms at the bottom.
6. Turn off the heat and rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Pour the finishing sauce over, add the spring onion and choy sum, and mix at the table, scraping up the crust.

Tips

• No clay pot: use a small heavy cast-iron or stainless pot with a tight lid. Follow the same steps; the crust forms the same way.
• Caring for a clay pot: soak a new pot in water for a few hours before its first use, and never put a cold, empty pot over high heat or it may crack.
• Salted fish: a little goes a long way. Leave it out if you don't like the strong flavour.
• Rice cooker: cook the rice with the topping in a rice cooker, then crisp the bottom in a hot oiled frying pan for 5 minutes.