If you love tender, juicy chicken and rice that’s packed with flavour, you’ll love the Chinese dish claypot chicken rice. Its name may be simple, but so much more goes into this dish than you’d think.
A small part of a big tradition
One thing many people don’t know about Chinese cuisine is that it’s actually made up of numerous regional traditions, from Sichuan to Fujian. Claypot chicken rice is believed to have originated from Cantonese cuisine, also known as Guangdong or Yue. Claypot cooking is popular around China for its unique way of retaining heat and moisture, so it’s no surprise that this thick chicken and rice dish is now popular throughout China and making its way into Chinese restaurants across Singapore.
Claypot chicken rice is just one of the one-pot dishes you’ll find everywhere in Chinese cuisine. If you like this meal, you may also love hotpot-a popular simmering soup served with your choice of ingredients, from meat to dumplings to eggs. There are also many other claypot rice toppings aside from chicken, including pork ribs, sausages, and even frog.
Eating it the authentic way
The most important thing when cooking claypot chicken rice is to make sure none of the ingredients are overcooked or undercooked in the end. Generally, there are two ways to achieve this. In most original recipes, everything is added to the pot at the beginning and cooked through. However, nowadays, many chefs find its better to cook the chicken separately to the rice, browning it first for added flavour. Alongside the titular ingredients, this dish also includes vegetables and an array of aromatic seasonings, from ginger to soy sauce.
Claypot chicken rice is usually eaten as a dinner or main meal, either with hot tea or a beer. Want to enjoy it the authentic way? Make sure you drizzle on a generous helping of the accompanying sauce. Next, mix everything together with a big spoon or spatula, getting all the rice coated in sauce. Make sure you scrape right down to the bottom of the pot to get the crispy rice from the bottom.
Where to order yours
Claypot chicken rice is the perfect dish for a winter day, filling you up with a little of each food group and warming your belly all the while.
You can get yours from any one of Singapore’s specialist restaurants, including Yong Nian Claypot Chicken Rice and 328 Nan Xing Claypot Rice.
