Are you a fan of claypot chicken rice? I know I AM! For those of you who have no idea what it is, allow me to enlighten you. 🙂 Basically, it is a combination of marinated chicken pieces, shitake mushrooms, and rice cooked in a claypot over high flames and right before it is served, an egg is cracked over the rice and sprinkled with salted fish. I’m feeling hungry already by just describing it. Haha, greedy me! 😛

Claypot chicken rice is easily obtainable anywhere in Penang, Malaysia. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Australia especially in Geelong. But that won’t stop me from enjoying my favorite food. If I crave it, cook it I shall!

Cooking the dish in a claypot will produce a layer of crispy bits at the bottom of the pan and this gives the dish a great charred flavor. This charred flavor together with the egg and fragrant salted fish are just amazing! (Mmm!~~ ) Sadly, I do not have a claypot so I’ll just have to make do with what I’ve got, a microwavable pot or a rice cooker. Although cooking it this way does not give you the amazing crispy charred bits, it still taste delicious especially when serving with good quality salted fish. This dish is a great one pot dish for those lazy days as it is very simple to cook. It is important to get the right balance of saltiness in this dish. After some trial and error, this is the final recipe that I’m happy with.

Salted fish brought in from Penang by Mr. D’s mom. Salted fish sold in asian groceries stores in Melbourne is super expensive and not as fresh looking as the ones back home. 

Soaked shitake musrooms. Do not throw away the soaking liquid as it is used to enhance the rice flavor.

Golden brown salted fish.

Make sure to stir fry the rice and all of the ingredients evenly in the wok before transferring to the rice cooker or microwavable pot.

Itadakimasu! 🙂

Claypot-less Chicken Rice (Serves 5)

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thigh fillets
• 15 dried shitake mushrooms
• 2 cups raw rice
• 2 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup mushroom soaking liquid (use the same cup you use to measure the rice)
• A piece of dried salted fish (thinly sliced)
• 1 medium shallot (finely diced)
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 2 eggs

Seasonings

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 3 dashes of white pepper

Chicken Marinade

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp dark soya sauce
• 1 tsp light soya sauce
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp shaoxing wine
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)
• A pinch of salt
• 2-3 dashes of white pepper

Methods

1. Mix all the ingredients for the chicken marinade in a bowl.
2. Wash and pat dry the chicken fillets. Cut the fillets into cubes and add them into the marinade. Marinade chicken for at least 30 min.
3. Soak dried shitake mushrooms in a bowl of boiling water for 10 min. Drain and squeeze dry. Remove and discard the shitake stems. Slice the mushroom thinly. Strain the soaking liquid into a bowl to remove any grit and put it aside.
4. Wash rice thoroughly with cold water. Drain and set it aside.
5. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wok. When the wok is hot, add in the thinly sliced dried salted fish. Fry until fragrant and golden brown. Dish out, drain and set aside.
6. Add diced shallots and crushed garlic into the same wok containing the oil used for frying the salted fish. Stir fry for 1 min.
7. Add in the marinated chicken and stir fry for 5 min. Then, add sliced shitake mushrooms and stir fry for another 2 min. Add rice and seasonings and stir fry evenly.
8. Transfer the rice mixture into a microwavable pot. Add 2 1/2 cups water together with 1/2 cup mushroom soaking liquid and mix them well.
9. Microwave on HIGH for 20 mins, uncovered. Once it is done, break the eggs into the rice and mix them evenly. To serve, scoop the chicken rice onto a plate/bowl and sprinkle with pan-fried salted fish.

Tagged: chicken, claypot, dinner, malaysian, one pot dish, rice, rice cooker, salted fish, shitake mushrooms, those lazy days