Cheat’s claypot rice
Claypot rice is one of my favourite foods, and it isn’t hard to make. That said, it can take a little practice to get the volumes of liquid right so that the rice isn’t soggy. That’s where this cheat’s version makes life much easier. Ordinary cooked rice is flavoured with the claypot toppings in what becomes a 10-minute dish. I’ve served this to many claypot rice afficionado and despite the shortcuts, it gets rave reviews.
Cooking time
<30min
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 chicken thighs
- 2 good quality lap cheong (Cantonese sausage)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tsp Cheong Chan caramel sauce, or dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 6 cups cooked white rice, warm
- 2 pak choy, quartered lengthways
- ¼ cup finely sliced spring onions
Method
- Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 2 cups of hot water for 20 minutes until softened. Trim and discard the stalks, then halve the caps.
- Heat a wok over high heat and add the oil. Add the chicken and the lap cheong and fry until lightly browned. Add the shiitake caps and toss to combine. Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, caramel sauce, sugar, Shaoxing wine and ginger and about ½ a cup of the shiitake soaking liquid. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce is thick and the chicken barely cooked through.
- Drizzle a little oil into the base of a claypot or separate saucepan and rub around with a piece of kitchen paper. Add the warm, cooked rice, flatten the top then pour the chicken mixture over the rice. Cover and place on low-medium heat for 5 minutes until the rice is toasted at the base and has absorbed the flavour of the topping.
- While the rice is toasting, bring a separate saucepan of water to a simmer and add a little oil. Boil the pak choy for just a minute until softened. Serve the claypot rice with the pak choy and spring onions scattered over the top.
