Felt like making potato and lentil curry but chose leftover brown lentils with flavoured chicken rice and mapo tofu instead, and found an easy recipe.

Claypot chicken rice is a popular dish in various Asian countries, especially Malaysia and Singapore, and can be found in street stalls, kopitam, or food courts. It comes in different varieties, featuring ingredients like lup cheong, lup yuk, dried shrimps, dried mushrooms, and chicken, which can be made with either thigh or breast meat. Although traditionally cooked in a clay pot, many now opt for electric rice cookers for convenience.

“Brown lentils are nutritious legumes that retain their shape while cooking and provide plant-based protein, fiber, iron, and folate. They are budget-friendly, gluten-free, and beneficial for lowering LDL cholesterol, supporting blood pressure, and promoting a healthy gut microbiome. Their high fiber content aids digestion and increases satiety, making them a great iron source for vegetarians and vegans.”

Glad that I tried make potato and lentil curry. Thank you God for your help. My meal is spicy, and delicious. Let’s cook!!!

Ingredients

Flavoured chicken rice

75 g butter
8 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4 inches ginger, divided, chopped finely
8-10 dried mushrooms, soaked overnight, slice thinly
50 g thinly sliced black fungus, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
3 lup cheong
4 chicken breasts, cut in bite size
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbs Shoa Xing (Chinese cooking wine)
2 Tbs oyster sauce, divided
1 Tbs minced garlic
6-7 c rice, wash and drain
1 L chicken stock (about 4 c)
3-4 c water
2 Tsp chicken powder stock
reserved water from mushrooms
salt
oil
ajinomoto (OPT)

Potato and lentil curry

1 cup (250ml) whole brown lentils
1 onion
3-4 medium potatoes
200 ml coconut milk
700 ml hot boiling water, plus extra
1/4 cup canned chopped tomato
2-3 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
2 small pieces cinnamon sticks
1 inch piece ginger
1 Tbs paprika powder or chili powder
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tsp cumin powder
1 Tsp garam masala
1 Tsp tomato paste
1/2 Tsp coriander powder
a pinch of mustard seeds
oil
salt
pepper

Mapo tofu

150 g minced pork
250 g soft silken tofu
1 packet mapo tofu, 80 g
2 Tbs chili garlic and onion sauce
1 Tbs minced garlic
1-2 Tbs oil

Method

Flavoured chicken rice

Let the thinly sliced black fungus soaked in hot water for 30 minutes. Place chicken in a bowl. Add 2“finely chopped ginger, soy sauce, 1 Tbs oyster and Shao Xing cooking wine. Allow chicken to marinade for 30 minutes. In a wok, put enough water and a stand, then put lup cheong in a metal plate and let it sit on the stand. Steam cook for 35-45 minutes until soften a bit. Do check regularly for enough water.

By now the thinly sliced black fungus should be softened. Strain the black fungus water into another bowl. Set aside the black fungus and water until needed. In a deep pan add 2 Tbs oil and butter let butter melt. Then add the remaining 2” chopped finely ginger and chopped finely garlic and fry until a little brown, add drained rice and toss around till oil and butter absorbed. Transfer to rice cooker add 3 c water, 1 L chicken stock, about 1/2 c of black fungus water, salt, ajinomoto, chicken stock powder, 1 Tbs oyster sauce. Stir up well and make sure water level is right (slightly above the rice), then cook it.

Now the lup cheong should be done, slice thinly with serrated knife. In a pan, add 1 Tbs oil, add minced garlic fry until fragrant, add chicken, thinly sliced black fungus, and mushrooms with a bit water from mushrooms, salt to taste and cook until black fungus, mushrooms and chicken are cook. Check seasoning.

When rice is done, add lup cheong, and the oil from it, add chicken, black fungus, and mushrooms. Stir well to combined all. Let the rice cooker keep warm about 5 minutes to infuse all the flavour from the chicken, mushrooms, lup cheong and thinly sliced black fungus.

Potato and lentil curry

Rinse the lentils under cold water to clear out any dust or debris. Place the rinsed lentils into the 700 ml of hot water. Bring the pot to a rapid boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is at a gentle, rolling simmer. Start your timer. Cook for the desired 8–10 minutes, testing a spoonful at the 8-minute mark to check if the texture meets your needs. Immediately remove from the heat and strain away any excess cooking liquid to stop them from softening further.

Meantime, rinse 1 inch ginger under running water. Pat dry and peel. Cut both end of garlic and peel them. Add garlic, ginger, a pinch of salt (OPT), and 1/4 Tsp oil to the small blender. Blitz well until smooth and light in colour. Scrape the sides and repeat blending until smooth. I added a bit more oil about 1/8 Tsp to get the garlic ginger mixture over the blade. Transfer to a sauce, cling wrap and set aside until needed in fridge. Before washing the small blender, I peel the onion skins and cut to quarter and place into the small blender, gives 2-3 pulse; roughly cut. I want some texture. You can finely chopped yours. Set aside.

Note: from the recipe I had browse saying: “Avoid adding water when make this paste as the moisture splatters as you add it to pan during cooking. You will need oil to cook them to bring out the aroma. Also don’t use garlic with shoots. They will turn the garlic ginger paste to green or blue paste over time if you are making bigger batch; add more oil about 1 Tbs for 125 g garlic and 125 g ginger. Can add more oil if you want.” You can use mortar and pestle to grind with oil.

Wash and cut potatoes into quartered or 1 inch cubes. From another recipe saying: “For extra crispy results, soak them in cold water for 30 minutes before boiling to remove excess starch.” Place the quartered potato in a pot and cover generously with cold water. “Add about 1/2 Tbs of salt to the water so to season from the inside out.” Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes. The potatoes should be slightly softened but still hold their shape and resist a fork. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Carefully shake the colander to rough up the edges of the potatoes.

Heat 2-3 Tbs oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add quartered potatoes in a single layer so they aren’t overcrowded. I do in two batches. Let them cook undisturbed for 3–5 minutes to get a golden crust, then flip. Continue turning and frying for about 10 minutes until they reach the desired crispiness. Remove the potatoes from the heat, add salt, and pepper. Then place them on a lined paper towel plate until needed.

Note: From another recipe I had browse, saying this: “Continue turning and frying for about 10-15 minutes. Seasoning after frying yields a crispier crust, as salt can draw out too much moisture during the cooking process.”

Heat 3 Tbs oil along with cloves, cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks in a pot. When the oil is nice and hot toss in the mustard seeds, and cumin seeds. As soon as the seeds pop and splatter, add onion and bay leaves. Cook until the onions are golden brown. Spoon in the garlic and ginger paste, along with tomato paste. Stir and cook for a few seconds.

Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes until they release their juices. Toss in the paprika powder, curry powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala – give a quick stir. Now add in  potatoes, and coconut milk to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes until potatoes are tender yet there are some crispy crust. Add softened lentils and about 1/4 cup water and simmer for a few minutes until thick gravy. Season with salt and pepper. Switch off hob. Let it sit a further 5-10 minutes for potatoes and lentil to absorb the aromatic spices gravy.

Mapo tofu

Heat oil in saucepan on medium heat. Then add garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 minute. Then add minced pork cook for about 5-7 minutes until cook through. Then gently add in tofu, toss around for 2-4 minutes. Next add in the mapo tofu sauce, and chili garlic and onion sauce; mix well to combined for about 2-3 minutes. Plate up to serving plate.

Assemble

Spoon enough flavoured chicken rice onto plate, followed by some mapo tofu on top. Next spoon some potato and lentil curry over the top of mapo tofu. Enjoy with a glass of Pinot Griggs!!!

Note: You can add salad, or cooked green vegetables as a side dish. You can reduce the chili garlic onion sauce if you can’t eat too spicy. You don’t have to fry the potatoes if you don’t want to. Just boil in salted water.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/07/12/flavoured-chicken-rice-mapo-tofu-and-potato-lentil-curry/

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