Claypot Chicken Rice

This is a one-meal chinese dish which is normally served in Singapore, Malaysia and China.  Traditionally, this dish is cooked in a claypot over a charcoal stove.  This type of cooking gives the dish a distinctive flavour but nowadays, it can be baked in an oven - the simple and quick method. There are several variations of this dish i.e. with salted fish, chinese sausage, etc. but the following recipe uses chicken meat.

Ingredients (serves 4):
600 g chicken breast, to be finely diced
2 cups (250 ml capacity) rice, to be rinsed and drained
300 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp cooking oil
8 dried mushrooms, to be soaked in hot water until soft and finely sliced (throw the stems away)

5 shallots, to be peeled, finely sliced and deep-fried until golden brown

Marinade Ingredients:
15 slices fresh ginger, to be cut into shreds
14 pips garlic, to be peeled and halved
2 tbsp dark, thick soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp salt or according to taste
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
In a bowl, mix all marinade ingredients together and add diced chicken.  Mix well, cover bowl and chill for at least one hour.  Preheat conventional oven to 180° C.

In an ovenproof dish, mix sliced mushroom, rice, cooking oil and chicken stock together. Then, add diced chicken and its marinade.  (Note:  To improve the taste, I suggest that one stir-fry the chicken and marinate in a wok (without oil) for a few minutes or until chicken changes colour.)  Mix thoroughly and cover dish with aluminium foil (shiny side down).  Bake for about 30 minutes.

Remove dish from oven and by using a wooden spatula, mix rice by bringing the bottom rice to the top.  This is to ensure even cooking.  Cover dish with foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Check whether rice is done.  If not, return to oven and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve hot sprinkled with fried shallots.

Bon Appetit!