Description
This one-pot ginger chicken and rice recipe offers a delicious, aromatic dish inspired by Hong Kong claypot rice. Featuring tender chicken thighs, a mix of flavorful Asian mushrooms, and fragrant ginger, this meal is steamed to perfection with chicken stock and finished with a flavorful sweet soy and fish sauce drizzle. Perfect for an easy yet impressive main course, it combines savory and slightly sweet flavors with a comforting texture.
Ingredients
Chicken and Rice
- 4 tbsp oil
- 500g / 1 lb chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into small bite-size pieces
- 1 1/2 cups long grain rice, NOT rinsed
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 4 green onion stems, white part finely sliced, green flopped part cut into 5cm / 2″ lengths
- 1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
- 4 – 5 slices ginger (~5mm / 0.2″ thick, no need to peel)
Mushrooms
- 150g / 5 oz shiitake mushrooms, fresh (~2 heaped cups), small halved, large thickly sliced
- 150g / 5 oz oyster mushrooms (~2 heaped cups), small kept whole, large cut into 2 or 3
- 200g / 7 oz king mushrooms, halved then cut into thick slices about 7mm thick
- 2 pinches salt
- 2 pinches white pepper
Simple Claypot Sauce
- 3 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/8 tsp white pepper (can substitute black pepper)
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: Mix the kecap manis, fish sauce, and white pepper in a small bowl. Toss the chicken pieces with 1 1/2 tablespoons of this sauce and set the remaining sauce aside for later drizzling.
- Sear the Mushrooms: Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy-based pot over high heat. Cook half the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and white pepper until they develop a light golden color on the surface but are not fully cooked. Remove them to a bowl and repeat with the remaining mushrooms, seasoning and cooking the same way.
- Seal the Chicken: Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until hot, add the marinated chicken, and stir-fry for about 1 minute until the chicken surface is sealed but still raw inside. Add the white part of the sliced green onions, minced garlic, and grated ginger, stirring for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add Rice and Stock: Stir in the uncooked rice briefly to coat it well with the oil, then pour in the chicken stock along with the ginger slices. Bring the mixture to a rapid simmer on high heat.
- Arrange Mushrooms and Simmer Again: Scatter the seared mushrooms over the rice surface, including any liquid that has accumulated in the bowl with the mushrooms. Allow it to come back to a rapid simmer.
- Steam the Dish: Cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to low or medium-low (suitable for weaker burners), and cook undisturbed for 20 minutes until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
- Rest: Remove the pot from the heat but keep the lid on. Let it rest for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld and the rice to finish steaming.
- Finish and Serve: Drizzle the reserved sauce over the rice and chicken, add the green parts of the green onions, and gently toss to mix until the green onions are mostly wilted. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use any mushrooms available if you don’t have the Asian varieties; button mushrooms or cremini work fine.
- Do not rinse the rice to retain the starchy coating for better texture and flavor absorption.
- Kecap manis is a sweet Indonesian soy sauce; if unavailable, mix regular soy sauce with a small amount of brown sugar or honey.
- Adjust the seasoning of the sauce according to taste, especially if your chicken stock is salty.
- Ensure not to stir during the steaming process to get the best claypot-like rice texture.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Mains
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian, Chinese
