Claypot Rice (煲仔饭)

Claypot rice, or bao zai fan (煲仔饭), is the ultimate comfort dish. It is beloved for its rich and smoky crispy rice crust, and savory toppings like Chinese sausage, marinated chicken, and salted fish. It’s a dish we always order when dining in a Cantonese restaurant. It’s often served in small individual claypots at the end of the meal, as the rice course. When cooking at home, we make bigger servings for a one-pot dinner.

What is claypot rice

Claypot rice is a traditional Cantonese dish where rice is cooked in a clay pot directly over an open flame or stove, often topped with marinated meats and vegetables. As the rice cooks, the ingredients infuse their flavors into the grains while the bottom forms a crispy golden-brown crust. There are many types of toppings, which usually feature one simple protein ingredient. For example, marinated chicken, Chinese sausage, Chinese smoked bacon, and seafood such as squid and salty fish are often used. 

Why this recipe

This recipe might look longer than many other claypot recipes, but I guarantee that it will help youl produce the best result without any shortcuts:

1. Soak the rice to produce the best texture: Pre-soaking the rice will help it cook more evenly, creating a better texture.
2. Seasoned soy sauce: This homemade seasoned sweet soy sauce is the best part, since it creates a complex flavor with a lot of aroma, just like they do at restaurants.
3. Toasting method that guarantees crispy rice: This recipe shares all the tips for you to achieve that perfect crispy rice layer on the bottom, with separated grains throughout the rest of the pot. 

What type of claypot to use?

First of all, you will need a claypot for the best result. I’ve discussed how to cook it in a dutch oven in the past and you should check out my other recipe if you don’t plan to use a claypot. 

Traditionally, claypot rice is often cooked in an unglazed clay pot. But these days, it’s much easier to source a glazed clay pot, not to mention much easier to clean. If you follow my recipe, you can achieve great results using a glazed pot.

I used a Ginpo Clay Pot No. 7 in this recipe. It is a 1.1 qt clay pot that makes one to two servings. It’s a pot that was recommended by a Chinese kitchen supply store in my neighborhood. It is the perfect size to cook 1 cup (240 ml) rice with a generous amount of toppings, perfect for two.

Seasoned sweet soy sauce

This homemade seasoned sweet soy sauce is a key ingredient that makes this dish stand out. Instead of mixing a few ingredients, my recipe simmers the sauce with aromatics, making a thickened and more concentrated sauce that’s very fragrant.

Ingredients

• Peanut oil: for roasting aromatics and giving the sauce a nutty flavor. You can use any other neutral oil instead, and add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil after you finish cooking.
• Shallot, scallion, ginger and garlic: these fresh aromatics are irreplaceable, giving the sauce a more complex flavor and aroma.
• Mushroom soaking liquid: another ingredient to add umami to the sauce.
• Light and dark soy sauce: the base ingredients. The dark soy sauce adds color to the sauce and a light caramel flavor.
• Shaoxing wine: it adds more dimension to the sauce.
• Sugar

How to make seasoned sweet soy sauce

1. Roast the aromatics to release their fragrance.
2. Add the rest of the seasonings and boil the sauce until reduced.
3. Keep the aromatics in the sauce until it has cooled, then strain them out. You will get a slightly thickened sauce that’s super fragrant.

This recipe produces more seasoned sweet soy sauce than you can use in the claypot rice. You can save the extra for making rice in the future, use it on Cheung Fun, use it for dipping noodles, or on steamed vegetables or fish.

Making claypot rice

Topping options

This is a family recipe which has the combo I like – chicken, Chinese lap cheong sausage, and shiitake mushrooms.

Alternatively, you can also use lap cheong sausage only, or chicken and mushrooms only (more common in restaurants).

A lot of recipes cook gai lan (Chinese broccoli) with the other toppings. Doing that overcooks the vegetable so I prefer to cook it separately. Skipping the gai lan also gives me more surface on top of the rice, so I can add more toppings that will impart their flavor to the rice.  

Pre-soaking and marinate ingredients are the key

About 2 hours before cooking, you should:

1. Pre-soak the rice: So the rice cooks more evenly. 
2. Pre-soak the lap cheung sausage: So the sausage turns more tender during cooking, giving it a much better mouthfeel.
3. Rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms
4. Marinate the chicken: For more flavorful chicken pieces. 

How to cook claypot rice

1. Add just enough boiling water to just cover the rice a little. Too much water makes the rice soggy. 
2. Cook over medium heat until steam comes out, then poke ventilation holes in the rice. 
3. Spread the toppings into an even layer and cover the pot immediately. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

4. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil around the rim of the pot. This helps the rice to crisp up.
5. Now is the key step: rotate the pot to toast the rice over medium heat on all sides. You should hear the rice crackling inside and smell a nutty aroma. Once the crackling sound starts, it only takes a minute or so for each side to toast.

6. Once done, let the rice rest for 10 minutes before uncovering it. Then drizzle with the seasoned soy sauce and mix.

Mixing the rice is the most exciting part, it’s a little nerve wracking! Because that’s when you will find out how the crispy rice crust came out. 

Afterthoughts

Making claypot rice is definitely 70% science and 30% art. The cooking process is hard to quantify sometimes, and it depends on a lot of factors such as the type of pot you use, or the strength of your stove. When toasting the rice, definitely use the recipe as a guideline and trust your own senses. Because you will smell the burn first if you cooked the rice for too long, or if the heat was too high. When in doubt, you can also cook the rice a little less. Because even if the rice doesn’t turn perfectly golden brown, the bottom layer should still be crunchy crispy and the toppings perfectly cooked.

Other Cantonese classics

• Air Fryer Siu Yuk (空气炸锅脆皮猪肉)
• Stuffed Tofu (囊豆腐)
• Longevity Noodles (Yi Mein, 伊面)
• Wonton Noodle Soup (广式云吞面)
• Pickled Daikon with Carrot

Claypot Rice (煲仔饭)

By Maggie Zhu

Prep Time: 2 hours hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 to 4 servings

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An authentic claypot rice recipe that produces the perfect crispy rice with juicy chicken and tender sausage with seasoned soy sauce. Learn all the secrets so you can reproduce this Cantonese classic dish in your own kitchen.

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

Soaking ahead of time

• 1 cup jasmine rice
• 2 lap cheong sausages
• 2 shiitake mushrooms

Marinating

• 2 boneless chicken thighs , cut into 3/4” (2 cm) pieces
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper

Seasoned soy sauce (*Footnote 1)

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 shallot , finely sliced
• 3 scallions , sliced into 1” pieces
• 1 ” ginger , sliced
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup mushroom soaking liquid
• 1/3 cup light soy sauce
• 1/3 cup dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Rice

• 3 tablespoons peanut oil , divided
• 2 green onions , thinly sliced
• 4 stalks gai lan , trimmed and blanched (Optional)

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Instructions

Prepare these ingredients ahead of time:

• Prepare the rice: Add the rice into a medium-sized bowl. Rinse the rice with cold tap water, stir the rice with your hand in a circular motion to get rid of excessive starch, and drain the rice. Repeat two more times. Then add 1” (2.5 cm) water to cover. Soak the rice for two hours. Drain the rice thoroughly with a colander.
• Soak the lap cheong: Place the lap cheong in a medium-sized bowl and add cold water to cover. Soak for 2 hours.
• Prepare the mushrooms: Soak the shiitakes in 1 cup of warm water until turning tender throughout. Once done, squeeze the excess water from the mushrooms and set aside. Reserve 1/3 cup mushroom soaking liquid.
• Marinate the chicken: Combine the chicken, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt and white pepper in a small bowl. Marinate in the fridge until ready to use.

Cook the seasoned soy sauce:

• Prepare the seasoned soy sauce while soaking the rice. Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, green onions, ginger and garlic cloves. Cook, stir occasionally, until golden brown. Add the mushroom soaking liquid and deglaze the pan. Add the light and dark soy sauces, shaoxing wine, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then turn to medium heat. Cook until the liquid is reduced by two thirds, 5 minutes or so. Allow the seasoned soy sauce to cool with the ingredients. Once cooled, strain the soy sauce into a bowl and discard the solid ingredients.

Cook the rice:

• When you’re ready to cook, add the soaked and strained rice into the claypot. Add 1 tablespoon of peanut oil and stir to mix well.
• Add about 1 cup hot water into the clay pot until the rice is just covered, about 1/4” (1/2 cm) above the rice. (*Footnote 1)
• Cook covered over a gas burner over medium heat until brought to a simmer or until steam starts to come out. Poke the rice with chopsticks to create ventilation holes.
• Add your choice of toppings in an even layer. Cover with the lid immediately. Turn the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes the water will be absorbed, and the rice should begin to crackle. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil evenly along the rim of the claypot with the lid covered. This oil will help toast the bottom layer of rice.
• Turn the heat up to medium. The rice should begin to crackle more prominently. Toast the bottom of the claypot for 1 minute.
• After the first minute of toasting, use oven mitts or dry towels to lift the claypot, leaning it to expose its side to the flame. Toast the rice on the sides for 1 to 2 minutes, and rotate by a quarter, until the entire circumference of the claypot’s sides have been toasted. Once the sides have been toasted, return the bottom of the pan to the flame for another minute. Constantly smell the steam coming out of the pan during the toasting process. The smell should be toasty, but not burning. If it begins to smell like burning, reduce the heat to medium-low. During the toasting process the rice should be making a consistent crackling sound.
• Once the rice is toasted, turn off the heat and let the rice rest covered for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes of resting, take the sausage out of the pot. Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces and then add it back to the claypot. Pour 2 tablespoons of seasoned soy sauce over the rice. Sprinkle with the green onion. Thoroughly mix the rice. Taste the rice and add more seasoned soy sauce if needed. Serve with blanched gai lan, if desired.

Video

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Notes

1. This recipe produces more seasoned soy sauce than you can use. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a month, or in the freezer for 3 months.
2. Adding too much water will result in soggy rice. You only need to add enough to barely cover the rice. There is no need to add the amount usually used, because the rice has already been soaked.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving

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