Claypot chicken rice (煲仔饭), also known as bao zai fan, is a one-pot meal that's consists of fluffy long grain rice topped with flavorful and tender marinated chicken, shiitake mushrooms, Chinese sausage, and the most iconic and beloved part of the dish - the scorched rice!
Rehydrate the dry shiitake mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Once the mushrooms are rehydrated, squeeze the mushrooms to remove excess water. Cut off the stem of the mushrooms, then cut the mushrooms into quarters.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients (water, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar). Mix well and add the rehydrated and cut mushrooms. Give it a stir and let the mushrooms marinate until needed.
Marinate the chicken:
In a medium bowl, mix together minced ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice cooking wine, sugar, and dark soy sauce. Add the diced chicken thighs and mix until evenly coated. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes or cover and marinate overnight in the fridge.*If marinating overnight, make sure to remove from the fridge about 1 hour before cooking, so the chicken warm at room temperature.*
Optional:When ready to use, add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil to the marinated chicken and mix well.
Make the claypot rice:
Wash and rinse the jasmine rice 2 to 3 times and drain well.
*One full recipe requires a claypot with 40 ounce capacity*Heat the claypot over low heat and add a small amount of oil. Brush the oil around the entire bottom and sides of the claypot.
Add the rinsed rice to the claypot and immediately add the water. Level out the rice, increase the heat to medium, and replace the lid. Bring the rice to a boil.
When the rice is boiling, remove the lid. If the rice need leveling out again, give it a stir, then let the rice cook until most of the water is absorbed.
Quickly spread the marinated chicken over the rice in as even of a layer as possible, followed by the thinly sliced Chinese sausages and the marinated mushrooms. Replace the lid and reduce the heat to low. Let the rice cook for about 15 minutes, until you hear sizzling sounds. This indicates that most of the moisture is cooked out.
Once you hear the sizzling sound, evenly pour the 2 tablespoons of oil around the edge of the lid. Let the rice cook for another 2 minutes.
After 2 minutes, increase the heat to medium and tilt and rotate the claypot about 20 degrees to scorch the rice around the sides, about 2 minutes on each side. Make sure to be careful and use a dry towel or kitchen mitts! The claypot handles and lid will be very hot!
Reduce the heat back to low and let the rice cook for another 2 to 4 minutes. At this point, the chicken should be perfectly cooked.
Carefully remove the claypot and garnish the rice with the sliced green onions.
Mix up the claypot rice and enjoy! The rice should be pretty flavorful on its own, but you can also drizzle sauce over it, if you prefer it more seasoned. Also make sure to dig up the beautiful scorched rice at the bottom of the claypot. You can eat the scorched rice separately or mix it into the claypot rice.
(Optional) Sauce:
Mix together all the ingredients (oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar) until the sugar is dissolved. Use as needed.
Notes
Please refer to the post above for step by step photo references, tips, and FAQs!
Claypot - Using a claypot will make this dish super fragrant and will allow you to get that beautiful scorch rice on the bottom. However, you can also make it in a dutch oven, regular heavy bottom pot, or even the rice cooker.
Scorch rice - It may be personal preference, but a small amount of burnt pieces on the scorch rice will add a very nice layer of flavor to the chicken claypot rice. So don't be afraid to add some char. However, don't go overboard or the rice will be bitter!
It is crucial that the marinated chicken is evenly spread out, preferably in one single layer, so that it can be cooked evenly.