Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯)

Wash the rice (10 oz) three times, massaging the rice, draining the water and using fresh water for each round.

Chef’s Tip: Next, soak the rice in boiling water for 10 minutes. The hot water will start cooking the rice, speeding up the final cooking process later.

Because the Chinese sausage is dried outside in the sun, my dad prefers to rinse away possible debris before he starts to work with it. Soak the Chinese sausage (2 links) in boiling water.

The dried shiitake mushrooms (1 oz) will need to be rehydrated in boiling water for about 10 minutes before they're soft enough to cut, so now is a good time to get that ready! Just place the mushrooms in a heat-safe bowl and add enough hot water to cover them.

Cut the chicken thigh (1 piece) into small pieces. Start by splitting it half down the middle, and then cutting each half into a few smaller pieces, each about 1 to 2 inches wide. If your chicken thigh also includes the drumstick part, cut that into pieces that are the same size.

If you're not comfortable slamming an enormous cleaver down on the chicken, it's completely fine to set the knife where you plan to cut, and push straight down with your other hand; bird bones are much softer than other types of bone and you will cut through with enough pressure.

Cut the chicken breast (1 piece) half, then into thick slices, about 1/2-inch thick.

This combination of dark and white meat helps to satisfy our family's different preferences, but if you (and your group, if you're sharing) prefer one over the other, you can definitely opt to use just dark or just light meat.

Because there may be bits of bone after cutting the bone-in chicken thigh, you'll want to rinse the cut pieces. Pour water over the cut pieces, give it all a gentle swirl, then lift each piece out of the water, inspecting each piece for floating bone shards. Put each rinsed, debris-free pieces into a colander. The bone shards will sink to the bottom of the water as you're pulling the chicken pieces out.

Grab the rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, and cut off and discard the stems. Cut the mushrooms into thirds. If your mushrooms are particularly big, or smaller than ours, you can cut them into more pieces or simply halve them.

Squeeze excess water out of the mushrooms. This way, they'll be able to soak up more flavor from the chicken and the sauce.

Finely mince the shallot (1 ) by slicing thinly and then rotating to chop into very small pieces.

Similarly, finely mince the ginger (1 tbsp) by slicing thinly and then rotating to chop into very small pieces.

The scallions (2 stalks) will be for garnish, so make sure that you're not using the knife and cutting board from the chicken, or that your tools have been carefully washed. Dice them into small pieces, and keep them separate from the minced shallot and ginger.

Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. This will help it absorb flavor. Combine the bone-in chicken with the chicken breast.

Create the marinade by mixing Kikkoman® Soy Sauce (1 tbsp), Kikkoman® Oyster Sauce (2 tbsp), salt (0.50 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), cornstarch (1 tbsp), water (3 tbsp), cooking wine (1 tsp), and white pepper (0.25 tsp) in a separate bowl. Once well-combined, add the chicken to the bowl and stir until every piece is evenly coated. Then, add the minced shallot and ginger.

To the shiitake mushrooms, add Kikkoman® Oyster Sauce (0.50 tbsp), sugar (1 tsp), and cornstarch (0.50 tsp). Mix until the mushrooms are evenly coated.

Mix up the sauce by combining Kikkoman® Oyster Sauce (1 tbsp), Kikkoman® Soy Sauce (1 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), and Kikkoman® Tamari Soy Sauce (1 tsp) in a separate bowl, and put it aside. This sauce will be for pouring over the rice after it's cooked.

My dad recommends using a gas stove when cooking with clay pots. The clay is prone to cracking over direct heat, so if you're using a clay pot on an electric stovetop, you'll want to somehow put some space between the stovetop and the clay pot.

Add the soaked rice to the pot (but not the soaking liquid; you'll measure out the amount you need in just a minute). Add oil (1 tsp) and mix it into the rice. It'll loosen up the rice and help the development of that fragrant, crunchy rice crust. Add boiling water (11 oz), put the lid on, and turn the heat to medium.

With a clay pot, you never want to turn the heat up all the way.

While the rice is starting to cook, mix in oil (1 tbsp) and Kikkoman® Sesame Oil (1 tbsp) to the marinating chicken.

When the water is just about boiling, uncover the pot. Let it keep cooking, and nudge the rice around if you need to, to make sure it's spread out evenly in the pot.

Then, as the rice has absorbed more of the water, begin to layer the meats on top of the rice. Put a link of Chinese sausage on each side, and lay the chicken out in an even layer over the rice. After the chicken, add the mushrooms. Spread them around; if they're in a tall pile, they won't cook evenly.

Once all the ingredients are in, turn the heat to low and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until you start to hear the the crackling. That's the oil and the heat working their magic on the edges of the rice.

Scorch Rice

Once you hear the crackling, sizzling sound, the food inside is just about cooked, and it's time to scorch the rice. Because you want maximum crust (trust us, you do), you'll have to rotate the pot and tilt it over the heat source to scorch the sides of the clay pot.

Turn the heat up to medium.

Use a dry towel, baking mitts or pot holders to hold onto the pot; it's very, very hot! You can also use those silicone grabbers; anything heat-proof that's meant for handling hot baking trays will work great here.

Firmly grip the pot handles, and without letting the lid come off, tilt the pot slightly onto its side so that the side of the pot can come closer to the heat (or, preferably, the flame of your gas range).

Move and tilt the pot so that the heat can scorch the side evenly for about 2 minutes. Then, turn the pot around and repeat the scorching process on the other side.

Then, turn the heat back down to low, and with the lid still on, spoon oil (2 tbsp) all around the edge of the lid so it can seep down into the pot. If you want to get fancy and make this extra aromatic, you can even use lard for this step.

Let it cook on low for 2 more minutes, until you hear the crackling, sizzling sound. Then, repeat the rice scorching process just like before, 2 minutes on either side. Again, be very careful to grip the pot tightly and don't burn yourself! Keep a nose out for signs of burning.

(Then, my dad did an extra minute on each side to get it super extra crispy.)

Please note, if you're using a clay pot that's smaller than ours, like a small single serving pot, you'll want to spend less time on this scorching process. You don't want to burn the rice!

Moment of truth! Take the lid off (finally) and take a second to appreciate the explosion of aroma. Add the diced green onion garnish right on top.

Turn off the heat, but remember that the clay pot is going to stay piping hot for a long time.

The rice is typically served in the clay pot, so you may need to remind your guests that the clay pot is very hot. The Chinese sausage links are still whole, so you'll want to cut them at the table (or quickly at the kitchen counter) and lay them back on top.

Don't forget to serve that delicious sauce! We usually pour a few splashes into the pot of rice, and then keep the rest in a bowl at the table so that everyone can further sauce up their own portions to their personal liking.