Claypot chicken rice
Photo: Bawani Sri Jayaveeran · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Claypot chicken rice is a Cantonese one-pot dish that Kuala Lumpur hawkers made their own by cooking each pot to order over charcoal. Raw rice goes into a glazed clay pot with stock, and marinated chicken, lap cheong sausage and salted fish are laid on top once the rice is half cooked, so the juices soak in. Dark soy and lard or sesame oil go in at the end, and the pot stays over the heat long enough to form a caramelised crust. Foong Lian in Pudu and the Jalan Ipoh shop cook each pot to order, which is why the wait is part of the meal.

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Common allergens: Soy, Fish, Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 20 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 200g jasmine rice, rinsed and soaked 30 minutes
  • 250ml chicken stock
  • 300g boneless chicken thigh, cut into chunks
  • 1 Chinese sausage (lap cheong), sliced
  • 1 small piece salted fish, diced (optional)
  • 3 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp lard or oil
  • 2 spring onions, chopped

Method

  1. Marinate the chicken with the oyster sauce, light soy, sesame oil and cornflour for 20 minutes.
  2. Put the drained rice and stock in a clay pot, bring to the boil over medium heat and cook uncovered until most of the liquid is absorbed.
  3. Lay the chicken, sausage, mushrooms and salted fish on top, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Drizzle the lard or oil around the inside edge of the pot and cook 5 minutes more to form the crust.
  5. Pour over the dark soy, scatter the spring onions and mix at the table, scraping up the crust.

Tip from the editors. Soak a new clay pot in water overnight before its first use and never put it cold onto a high flame.

Where to eat claypot chicken rice

Claypot chicken rice in Kuala Lumpur

Jalan Ipoh Claypot Chicken Rice ★ 4.3

$ Claypot riceJalan Ipoh

Jalan Ipoh Claypot Chicken Rice cooks its dish to order over charcoal in the Jalan Ipoh area of Kuala Lumpur, one pot at a time, and holds a Bib Gourmand.

OrderOrder the claypot chicken rice with extra lap cheong, cooked to order over charcoal.

TipThe claypots are cooked one at a time, so expect a short wait even on a quiet afternoon.

Directions

Foong Lian Claypot Foods Cafe ★ 4.1

$ Claypot ricePudu

Foong Lian Claypot Foods Cafe has cooked charcoal claypot chicken rice on Jalan Yew in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, since 1986, prized for its smoky rice crust.

OrderOrder the claypot chicken rice, cooked over charcoal for a smoky crust on the rice.

TipQueues form at peak hours, so arrive near the 11:30 opening; the owners run a list of dining rules to seat people fast.

Directions

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