Claypot chicken rice is popular in many Asian countries just to name a few Malaysia and Singapore, which I had have eaten in the street, kopitam or food courts. There are many varieties in term of flavour added such as lup cheong and lup yuk, dried shrimps and dried mushrooms: shitake and of course chicken meat. Some use thigh and some use breast.

While it’s traditionally cooked in a clay pot, many use electric rice cooker these days easier for home cook like me. Claypot is sand pots many Asian countries would have them and used it to cook flavoured rice over charcoal like my grandma used too. My mom has the claypot, I could bother to buy the claypot so I have used my rice cooker to cook it.

There are a lot of things to do for this recipe. As I have free time, I decided to spend my time exploring and creating something different. Thus, once in a while, it’s good to practice my Chinese culinary skills. Well, the hard work pays off with each mouthful I eat. I soon forgot how hard it was to cut the lup cheong, and especially the lup yuk. I had to use a serrated knife, using all my muscle strength, and even after steaming for 35-45 minutes to soften it a bit.

I am glad to make cheat claypot rice again to go with some green vegetables; to get rid of my remaining rocket leaves and leftover green beans; recipe below. I have omitted black fungus as it is expensive and cook it in big amount so that I can freeze them and have it later. It was delicious, flavoursome and satisfying my soul. Let’s cook!!!

Ingredients

75 g butter
8 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
4 inches ginger, divided, chopped finely
6-8 dried mushrooms, soaked overnight, sliced thinly
4 lup cheong, halved
1/2 of long piece of lup yuk, cut into small pieces
5 chicken breasts, cut in bite size
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbs Shoa Xing (Chinese cooking wine)
1 1/2 Tbs oyster sauce
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)

Green vegetables

1 bunch of green beans, washed, dried, cut into bite size
1 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tsp sesame oil (OPT)
some rocket leaves (OPT)
oil
salt
pepper

Method

Place chicken in a bowl. Add 2“finely chopped ginger, soy sauce, and Shao Xing cooking wine. Allow chicken to marinade for 30 minutes. In a wok, put enough water and a stand, then put halved lup cheong and lup yuk 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.

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, salt, ajinomoto, chicken stock powder, 1 1/2 Tbs oyster sauce. Stir up well and make sure water level is right (slightly above the rice), then cook it.

Now the lup cheong and lup yuk should be done, sliced thinly with serrated knife both of them. Put 1 Tbs oil in frying pan fry lup cheong and lup yuk a little bit about 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Using the same pan add 1 Tbs oil, add minced garlic fry until fragrant, add chicken, and mushrooms with a bit water from mushrooms, salt to taste and cook until mushrooms and chicken are cooked. Check seasoning.

When rice is done, add lup cheong, lup yuk and the oil from it, add chicken, and mushrooms. Stir well to combined all. Let the rice cooker keep warm about 5-10 minutes to infuse all the flavour from the chicken, mushrooms, lup cheong and lup yuk.

While rice is in keep warm mode. Cook the green beans. Heat a saucepan on medium heat, add 1 Tbs oil, once oil is hot about 25 seconds, add garlic cook for 25 seconds then add in green beans, stir around until softened about 10 minutes. Add sesame oil and toss around to mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon green beans onto plate. Then spoon rice with some green beans and scatter rockets leaves onto serving bowls, drizzle chili sauce 5 rows and served with a bottle of cool beer. Enjoy!!!

Note: Freeze the remaining rice for later. You may want to reduce the amount to half. You may omit ajinomoto. You may want to add buk choy or cabbage or carrot for colouring and to have some vegetables to go along with your rice.

https://helenscchin.com/2024/03/11/flavoured-chicken-rice-with-rockets-green-beans-and-chili-sauce/

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