Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Clay-pot baked rice with Chinese sausages and Chinese smoked ham (臘味堡仔飯)

This seems to be quite a unique dish available in Southern California Cantonese restaurants.  Not sure if it is available elsewhere in US.
  1. After rinsing rice thoroughly (using a mixing bowl) and draining water (with a strainer), immerse 1 cup of rice in 1 cup of water for an hour, then stir in 1/2 tsp of veggie oil.
  2. Coat a thin layer of vegi oil inside a 6"clay pot, then put the rice and water in.  Note- For an 8" clay pot, use 2 cups of rice soaked in 2 cups of water for an hour (stirring in 1 tsp of veggie oil at the end).
  3. Bring the pot to boil on a stove (with lid off, 6-8 minutes), cover the lid partially and let simmer till no more boiling water on top of rice (3-4 minutes, water will overflow if the lid is covered completely at this point), cover the lid and continue to cook at low heat for 10 minutes. Note- In case you haven't noticed, this is the time-tested traditional method of cooking rice,  before the invention of Rice Cookers. A slightly burnt crust of rice (鍋粑) will form at the bottom of the pot, which is the part I like the most.
  4. Add sliced Chinese sausages (香腸), Chinese smoked ham (臘肉), Chinese BBQ pork (叉燒) on top of rice, cover the lid and cook at low heat for 5 more minutes, turn off heat, and cook in residual heat for 15 minutes minutes or longer.  Note- After adding meat slices on top, the pot can be moved into an oven, and baked for 15 minutes at 400-deg-F according to some online sources, but I have not tried that method.
  5. Blanch your favorite leafy vegetable and place on top of the rice, and serve.  Here is a finished product.
  6. Prepare seasoning sauce for cooked rice by mixing 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 3-4 tablespoons of drinking water. Sprinkle seasoning sauce on rice and serve with the sliced meat. 

No comments:

Post a Comment