Claypot Chicken Rice, without claypot

Servings

2-3

Prep

10 min

Cook

30 min

Confusing title? Originally, claypot chicken rice is cooked using a claypot. But since I do not own one and it does not seem useful if I do own one because I do not have a gas stove at home. So in order to make this dish, I use my rice cooker. What’s missing is just the lovely, crunchy rice crust at the bottom but with some tricks, I am able to pull it off. This dish is popular in food courts. Growing up, I remember my sister eating this most of the time while I had fried noodles.

This is how an original claypot chicken rice dish looks like

This is how an original claypot chicken rice dish looks like – Photo from makansutra

I have been cooking this at home for a few years now, and the last time I was back in Malaysia, the hubby and I had the real claypot chicken rice at a food court. Sadly, I’ve gotten to accustom to the one I make at home and the food court’s one did not taste nice. Even the hubby said mine was better (probably buttering me up, so I still cook for him). It also could be because I add a massive amount of dark soy sauce and sesame oil that it really makes the dish tastier and the colour is fabulous. The colour part is mostly because of my mother, because she loves her food to be really dark/black (especially when it comes to soy sauce being the main ingredient). For example if she orders KL Hokkien Mee, she wants it reaaaaaalllyyyy black. If not, she looses her appetite. So when it came to me cooking claypot chicken rice, I got put off when it first turned out very pale…so I added more dark soy sauce after it was cooked and it turned out perfect.

This was the first claypot chicken rice I cooked, see how pale it is!

This was the first claypot chicken rice I cooked, see how pale it is!

Another thing that’s missing in my dish is, Lap Cheong or dried Chinese sausage. It always slips my mind to search for it at the Asian shop, though I’m not too sure if they even have it – to the ones I go to. The most important part of the dish to have is the fried salted fish. The taste of the salted fish is just so perfect with the dish. My salted fish comes from my hometown, Sabah and that’s probably the only salted fish I will ever buy. Folks from Sabah take pride in their seafood 😀

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia .

Fried salted fish pieces

Fried salted fish pieces

Ingredients

  • 2 Chicken Thighs, deboned and cut into pieces
  • 3 inch piece, julienned Ginger
  • 4 big pieces Shiitake Mushrooms (optional)
  • 1 pair Lap Cheong / Dried Chinese Sausage, sliced (optional)
  • 1 bunch Spring Onions
  • 1 - 2 inches Salted Fish, sliced

Chicken Marinade

  • 2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing Cooking Wine
  • 1½ tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
  • 1½ tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
  • 4 dashes White Pepper, powder
  • To taste Salt

Rice

  • 1½ cups Rice, uncooked
  • 1½ cups Water
  • 2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
  • 1½ tablespoon + 1½ tablespoons (for after cooking) Dark Soy Sauce
  • 2 teaspoons + 1 teaspoon (for after cooking) Sesame Oil
  • To Taste Salt

Directions: 

  • Salted Fish
  1. Wash salted fish and pat dry.
  2. Thinly slice it.
  3. Heat up a pan to medium heat with some oil.
  4. Fry salted fish till crispy.

 

  • Chicken
  1. Clean chicken and marinade for at least 30 minutes before cooking.
  2. Once marinated, heat up a pan with some oil. Medium high heat.
  3. Fry ginger till aromatic.
  4. Add chicken and the marinade.
  5. Stir fry till 3/4 cooked. You can also fully cook it, but make sure you still have gravy left.
  6. Add chicken and gravy into half cooked rice.

 

  • Rice (after chicken has been marinated and just before you begin cooking the chicken)
  1. Wash rice.
  2. Add rice, water and all ingredients under rice into rice pot.
  3. Mix well and press cook to start cooking the rice.
  4. Add cooked chicken and gravy into half cooked rice.
  5. Allow to cook until the rice cooker button pops to stay warm. 
  6. Add extra dark soy sauce and sesame oil.
  7. Press cook again (sometimes it takes a while till you can press cook again – cooking it again will enable it to form a nice piece of rice crust, this should take a couple of minutes)
  8. Let the rice cooker be on stay warm for 15 minutes before serving.
  9. To serve : top with fried salted fish and spring onions.
  10. Dig in!!!!!!

Tips:

Enjoy!

Cherry's Signature

 

 

 

 

 

 

Claypot Chicken Rice

Claypot Chicken Rice (without claypot)

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12 Comments

  1. Lawrence 9 years ago

    Add sugar to marinade as well.

    Also if you would like to have that crust, i prefer cooking everything in one pot using the stove.

    Firstly, cook the chicken in the pot until desired condition.
    Add in raw rice, and stir fry until half cook, or until the rice is translucent.
    Add in desired water for rice. Bring to boil, simmer on low heat, covered for 15 mins.
    Fluff rice and ready to eat.

    • Thanks for your comment. Yes, you can add sugar as well. But I personally do not add it because I use dark soy sauce which is sweet.

  2. Jeannette 6 years ago

    Thanks for posting the recipe. Is the cup for the rice and water the rice cooker cup or normal measuring cup?

  3. Aaliyah 4 years ago

    Hi there Cherry. Stumbled across this recipe by super random chance, as I was freaking out what to cook for dinner after so many days into MCO. Decided to try using your recipe which is so simple, but such a winner with the family. Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂

    • Hi Aaliyah! Thank you very much for trying out my recipe! It must be though as Malaysians to not be able to get our hawker food during this MCO. I too am out of ideas and we have already cooked this recipe twice! But then again, I do cook this rather often as I don’t live in Malaysia and when I feel homesick, this is my go-to food. I hope you and your family stay healthy and safe, and persevere till 9th June. 🙂

  4. Vanessa 4 years ago

    Hi Cherry, Thanks for posting this recipe. It’s a big hit with my husband and children. I don’t have a big rice pot, though, so I cook the rice in my small rice pot (with all the ingredients added for ‘Rice’). Then I cook the chicken in a wok. Once the rice is done, I combine it with the chicken in the wok. Works for me… so I’m happy 🙂
    Thanks again. Stay safe, wherever you are.

    • Hi Vanessa! Thank you for trying out the recipe, I am really glad that it turned out well for you. Thanks for your wishes too. I also hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.

  5. Sabby 4 years ago

    Didn’t have any salted fish or Chinese sausage so made a side of scallion oil and vinegar pickled green chillies. Tasty!

  6. Nadia 3 years ago

    I love love love this recipe. I’ve made it 3 or 4 times already since I found it in Feb this year. I live in Germany and access to salted fish is difficult. Luckily I can get salted ikan bilis here and use that as a substitute instead.

  7. Following this recipe gave me the ‘best-est’ ‘claypot’ chicken rice I’ve ever eaten. Not a good cook myself, I’m actually pretty impressed that I can produce something that tasted so good. Even my family is speechless.
    Thank you so much for sharing this, Cherry.

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