Claypot rice, or bao zai fan (煲仔饭), is the last word consolation dish. It’s beloved for its wealthy and smoky crispy rice crust, and savory toppings like Chinese language sausage, marinated rooster, and salted fish. It’s a dish we at all times order when eating in a Cantonese restaurant. It’s typically served in small particular person claypots on the finish of the meal, because the rice course. When cooking at house, we amplify servings for a one-pot dinner.
What’s claypot rice
Claypot rice is a conventional Cantonese dish the place rice is cooked in a clay pot straight over an open flame or range, typically topped with marinated meats and greens. Because the rice cooks, the components infuse their flavors into the grains whereas the underside varieties a crispy golden-brown crust. There are various kinds of toppings, which often characteristic one easy protein ingredient. For instance, marinated rooster, Chinese language sausage, Chinese language smoked bacon, and seafood equivalent to squid and salty fish are sometimes used.
Why this recipe
This recipe may look longer than many different claypot recipes, however I assure that it’s going to assist youl produce the very best consequence with none shortcuts:
- Soak the rice to provide the very best texture: Pre-soaking the rice will assist it cook dinner extra evenly, creating a greater texture.
- Seasoned soy sauce: This selfmade seasoned candy soy sauce is the very best half, because it creates a fancy taste with plenty of aroma, similar to they do at eating places.
- Toasting methodology that ensures crispy rice: This recipe shares all the information so that you can obtain that excellent crispy rice layer on the underside, with separated grains all through the remainder of the pot.
What sort of claypot to make use of?
To start with, you will have a claypot for the very best consequence. I’ve mentioned how one can cook dinner it in a dutch oven prior to now and it’s best to try my different recipe in case you don’t plan to make use of a claypot.
Historically, claypot rice is commonly cooked in an unglazed clay pot. However as of late, it’s a lot simpler to supply a glazed clay pot, to not point out a lot simpler to wash. For those who observe my recipe, you may obtain nice outcomes utilizing a glazed pot.
I used a Ginpo Clay Pot No. 7 on this recipe. It’s a 1.1 qt clay pot that makes one to 2 servings. It’s a pot that was really useful by a Chinese language kitchen provide retailer in my neighborhood. It’s the excellent dimension to cook dinner 1 cup (240 ml) rice with a beneficiant quantity of toppings, excellent for 2.
What’s the distinction between a clay pot and donabe?
Donabe is Japanese earthenware that has a distinct form from the Chinese language claypot. Donabe is often somewhat deeper with straighter sides. Chinese language claypot is often shallower, with a extra sloped backside and sides which might be unglazed, which makes it simpler so that you can toast the rice on all sides and create a bigger crispy floor.
That being mentioned, it’s doable to make use of a donabe to make claypot rice. You must examine the directions to your pot. The glazed sides may not be appropriate for direct flame and chances are you’ll solely give you the option toast the rice on the underside of the pot.
Seasoned candy soy sauce
This selfmade seasoned candy soy sauce is a key ingredient that makes this dish stand out. As a substitute of blending a number of components, my recipe simmers the sauce with aromatics, making a thickened and extra concentrated sauce that’s very aromatic.
Elements
- Peanut oil: for roasting aromatics and giving the sauce a nutty taste. You should utilize another impartial oil as a substitute, and add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil after you end cooking.
- Shallot, scallion, ginger and garlic: these recent aromatics are irreplaceable, giving the sauce a extra complicated taste and aroma.
- Mushroom soaking liquid: one other ingredient so as to add umami to the sauce.
- Mild and darkish soy sauce: the bottom components. The darkish soy sauce provides colour to the sauce and a light-weight caramel taste.
- Shaoxing wine: it provides extra dimension to the sauce.
- Sugar
Easy methods to make seasoned candy soy sauce
- Roast the aromatics to launch their perfume.
- Add the remainder of the seasonings and boil the sauce till lowered.
- Preserve the aromatics within the sauce till it has cooled, then pressure them out. You’re going to get a barely thickened sauce that’s tremendous aromatic.
This recipe produces extra seasoned candy soy sauce than you should use within the claypot rice. It can save you the additional for making rice sooner or later, apply it to Cheung Enjoyable, use it for dipping noodles, or on steamed greens or fish.
Making claypot rice
Topping choices
This can be a household recipe which has the combo I like – rooster, Chinese language lap cheong sausage, and shiitake mushrooms.
Alternatively, it’s also possible to use lap cheong sausage solely, or rooster and mushrooms solely (extra frequent in eating places).
Quite a lot of recipes cook dinner gai lan (Chinese language broccoli) with the opposite toppings. Doing that overcooks the vegetable so I favor to cook dinner it individually. Skipping the gai lan additionally provides me extra floor on prime of the rice, so I can add extra toppings that can impart their taste to the rice.
Pre-soaking and marinate components are the important thing
About 2 hours earlier than cooking, it’s best to:
- Pre-soak the rice: So the rice cooks extra evenly.
- Pre-soak the lap cheung sausage: So the sausage turns extra tender throughout cooking, giving it a significantly better mouthfeel.
- Rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms
- Marinate the rooster: For extra flavorful rooster items.
Easy methods to cook dinner claypot rice
- Add simply sufficient boiling water to only cowl the rice somewhat. An excessive amount of water makes the rice soggy.
- Cook dinner over medium warmth till steam comes out, then poke air flow holes within the rice.
- Unfold the toppings into an excellent layer and canopy the pot instantly. Cook dinner over low warmth for 10 minutes.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil across the rim of the pot. This helps the rice to crisp up.
- Now could be the important thing step: rotate the pot to toast the rice over medium warmth on all sides. You must hear the rice crackling inside and odor a nutty aroma. As soon as the crackling sound begins, it solely takes a minute or so for both sides to toast.
- As soon as finished, let the rice relaxation for 10 minutes earlier than uncovering it. Then drizzle with the seasoned soy sauce and blend.
Mixing the rice is essentially the most thrilling half, it’s somewhat nerve wracking! As a result of that’s when you’ll discover out how the crispy rice crust got here out.
Afterthoughts
Making claypot rice is unquestionably 70% science and 30% artwork. The cooking course of is difficult to quantify generally, and it is determined by plenty of components equivalent to the kind of pot you employ, or the energy of your range. When toasting the rice, positively use the recipe as a suggestion and belief your personal senses. As a result of you’ll odor the burn first in case you cooked the rice for too lengthy, or if the warmth was too excessive. When doubtful, it’s also possible to cook dinner the rice rather less. As a result of even when the rice doesn’t flip completely golden brown, the underside layer ought to nonetheless be crunchy crispy and the toppings completely cooked.
Different Cantonese classics
Chinese language Cooking Made Straightforward
Are you new to this web site? This free electronic mail sequence is a superb place to begin. I’ll stroll you thru a number of of my hottest recipes and present you the way and why they work. You’ll shortly begin to cook dinner higher Chinese language meals in your personal kitchen.
An genuine claypot rice recipe that produces the proper crispy rice with juicy rooster and tender sausage with seasoned soy sauce. Study all of the secrets and techniques so you may reproduce this Cantonese basic dish in your personal kitchen.
Seasoned soy sauce (*Footnote 1)
Stop your display from going darkish
Put together these components forward of time:
-
Put together the rice: Add the rice right into a medium-sized bowl. Rinse the rice with chilly faucet water, stir the rice along with your hand in a round movement to do away with extreme starch, and drain the rice. Repeat two extra occasions. Then add 1” (2.5 cm) water to cowl. Soak the rice for 2 hours. Drain the rice totally with a colander.
-
Soak the lap cheong: Place the lap cheong in a medium-sized bowl and add chilly water to cowl. Soak for two hours.
-
Put together the mushrooms: Soak the shiitakes in 1 cup of heat water till turning tender all through. As soon as finished, squeeze the surplus water from the mushrooms and put aside. Reserve 1/3 cup mushroom soaking liquid.
-
Marinate the rooster: Mix the rooster, oyster sauce, gentle soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt and white pepper in a small bowl. Marinate within the fridge till prepared to make use of.
Cook dinner the seasoned soy sauce:
-
Put together the seasoned soy sauce whereas soaking the rice. Warmth 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a small pan over medium warmth. Add the shallot, inexperienced onions, ginger and garlic cloves. Cook dinner, stir sometimes, till golden brown. Add the mushroom soaking liquid and deglaze the pan. Add the sunshine and darkish soy sauces, shaoxing wine, and sugar. Carry to a boil, then flip to medium warmth. Cook dinner till the liquid is lowered by two thirds, 5 minutes or so. Enable the seasoned soy sauce to chill with the components. As soon as cooled, pressure the soy sauce right into a bowl and discard the stable components.
Cook dinner the rice:
-
If you’re able to cook dinner, add the soaked and strained rice into the claypot. Add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil and stir to combine nicely.
-
Add about 1 cup sizzling water into the clay pot till the rice is simply coated, about 1/4” (1/2 cm) above the rice. (*Footnote 1)
-
Cook dinner coated over a fuel burner over medium warmth till dropped at a simmer or till steam begins to come back out. Poke the rice with chopsticks to create air flow holes.
-
Add your alternative of toppings in an excellent layer. Cowl with the lid instantly. Flip the warmth to low, and cook dinner for 10 minutes.
-
After 10 minutes the water shall be absorbed, and the rice ought to start to crackle. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil evenly alongside the rim of the claypot with the lid coated. This oil will assist toast the underside layer of rice.
-
Flip the warmth as much as medium. The rice ought to start to crackle extra prominently. Toast the underside of the claypot for 1 minute.
-
After the primary minute of toasting, use oven mitts or dry towels to carry the claypot, leaning it to reveal its facet to the flame. Toast the rice on the perimeters for 1 to 2 minutes, and rotate by 1 / 4, till your entire circumference of the claypot’s sides have been toasted. As soon as the perimeters have been toasted, return the underside of the pan to the flame for an additional minute. Consistently odor the steam popping out of the pan in the course of the toasting course of. The odor must be toasty, however not burning. If it begins to odor like burning, scale back the warmth to medium-low. Throughout the toasting course of the rice must be making a constant crackling sound.
-
As soon as the rice is toasted, flip off the warmth and let the rice relaxation coated for 10 minutes.
-
After 10 minutes of resting, take the sausage out of the pot. Slice the sausage into bite-sized items after which add it again to the claypot. Pour 2 tablespoons of seasoned soy sauce over the rice. Sprinkle with the inexperienced onion. Totally combine the rice. Style the rice and add extra seasoned soy sauce if wanted. Serve with blanched gai lan, if desired.
Ingredient Substitution Information
- This recipe produces extra seasoned soy sauce than you should use. Retailer the leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as a month, or within the freezer for 3 months.
- Including an excessive amount of water will end in soggy rice. You solely want so as to add sufficient to barely cowl the rice. There isn’t any want so as to add the quantity often used, as a result of the rice has already been soaked.
