Claypot Chicken Rice?

Except without the claypot.

This is adapted from E's chicken rice recipe. I wasn't expecting it to turn out quite so well but it did. It's actually almost exactly like the claypot chicken rice we get back home - which happens to be one of my favourite things - except without the burnt bits. Yum!

I used my phone to take a crappy photo. I was contemplating plating it nicely and taking a 'nice' photograph but what the heck - I didn't want to go to the monumental effort of trying to make something like this look pretty. Besides, I still don't have a good camera. So here's a shot of the pot. I promise it's delicious. It's one of those hearty, old fashioned, simple meals that you make when you just want a good ol' tuck in.

Ingredients:

Chicken thigh fillets (cubed)

Garlic (sliced)

Onion (chopped)

Ginger (halved)

Chicken stock powder

Coriander powder

Fenel powder

Five Spice powder

Star anise

Cinnamon stick

Rice

Dark soy sauce

Oyster sauce

Pepper

Sugar

Oil

Method:

1. Wash uncooked rice while heating a little oil (drizzle oil around the pan once approximately) in a frying pan or wok

2. When oil is hot, add half the ginger, star anise and cinnamon stick and fry till fragrant

3. Add washed uncooked rice and stir well so that the rice gets 'roasted' evenly and is coated in a little oil

4. Add about 1 tablespoon each of fenel and coriander powder for every 3 cups of rice, a little pepper to taste and some chicken stock powder

5. Continue 'roasting' the rice with the spices until the rice is well coated and fragrant

6. Put roasted rice into rice cooker pot (don't cook it yet)

7. Add oil twice around the (empty) pan and wait till hot

8. Add garlic, onions and ginger and fry till fragrant

9. Add chicken cubes and fry till golden brown

10. Add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, pepper (optional), sugar, a pinch of five spice powder, some chicken stock powder (optional) and about two cups of water

11. Let it simmer for a while and then taste and add whatever is missing

12. Make it a tad more salty or make the flavour a tad stronger than you would normally like because you will be mixing it with the rice. If you don't do this, the rice will be bland.

13. Make sure you have added enough water to in with the chicken so that when you add the chicken and broth to the rice, it will be sufficient to cook the rice (in the rice cooker)

14. When satisfied with the taste, add to roasted rice and cook in rice cooker

15. It is likely that that lever on the rice cooker will trip to 'Keep Warm' before the rice is completely cooked. This is completely normal.

16. Check how cooked/uncooked the rice is. If the rice is still quite hard, then mix a bowl of water with dark soy sauce, chicken stock, and sugar and add to rice and cook for a little longer.

17. When the rice cooker lever trips to 'Keep Warm' again, check the 'how cooked' the rice is again. If almost completely cooked, then just close the pot and let it sit in the rice cooker for about 20 minutes.

18. Serve topped with chopped spring onions or sliced cucumbers or 'lap cheong' or salted fish or everything!