Thursday 28 June 2007

Rice Cooker ~ Claypot Chicken Rice

This was our dinner tonight...Claypot Mushroom Chicken Rice.


Since the start of the week, I have been involved in some "odd jobs" and will still be busy right till next week, I could hardly find time to do any baking :(

This is a super simple, fuss-free, one-pot dish which I have improvised over the past 1.5 years. It is one of the first few simple meals which I could handle ever since I became the full-time COO of my house (aka housewife) ;)

This is so simple, even the taste is so simple (nothing fabulous) that I didn't even thought of posting it. Whenever I am short of time, or, pure lazy, I will make this dish.

All you need to do is to marinate the chicken pieces (I used half a chicken) beforehand with some seasonings such as: black soya sauce, salt, pepper, sesame seed oil and a few slices of ginger. The chicken will taste better if you can marinate it overnight.

Just before you are ready to cook the dish, cut mushrooms such as fresh button mushrooms, dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms into slices, wash the rice and place everything (rice, mushrooms, marinated chicken) into the rice cooker pot. Add in the amount of water required to cook the rice (eg 2 cups rice will need 2 cups of water). Stir the ingredients to mix well. Cook using the rice cooker. Give it a stir in between the cooking cycle. Once the cooking cycle is completed, fluff the rice a little and the dish is ready to be served!

I am not able to provide details on how much salt, soya sauce to add...as I usually cook by "feeling"...I simple add the amount which I "think" is right. As a result, sometimes the chicken rice could be more saltish while other times the taste was just right! Occasionally the rice could be a little too hard as I didn't add enough water. Since my dear ones are not picky eaters, so far they have not made any complaints. hehe!

I used to stir-fry the chicken and mushrooms a little before I cook them in the rice cooker. Ever since I tried putting everything raw into the rice cooker to cook, I have omitted this step completely. So, there's really not much cleaning and washing up to be done :)


A closed-up of tonight's dinner, the rice appeared oily, but it was not. I took this picture right under a lamp, the reflections made the whole dish looked so oily! As you can see, the rice was a bit too soft and sticky...I must have added too much water, oops!

15 comments:

A Mature Student said...

Looks good. Reminds me that it is time for me to cook this dish again. I will try to do it without pre frying the ingredients like you mentioned.
As always, there is always one in the family who is not keen on this dish but..... :))

Anne said...

is this more or less similar to the claypot rice sold in hawker centers? I have seen it but I haven't tasted it yet. But yours look more tasty and easy to prepare :)

Unknown said...

Hi SH,

this is one of my favourite dish when I was younger. And I always cook this whenever my parents are out of town cause it's simple and yummy. =)

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi dr ve thru, thanks for dropping by :) I visited your blog...it's so great of you to keep a blog just so that your children can refer to them :D

Hi Anne, taste wise, this is far from those claypot rice sold in the hawker centre. The texture of the rice is different. You should try the dish, especially those stalls which sell this dish that are cooked over charcoal.

Hey Jace, wow, you can cook since young?! I should have learnt how to cook at a younger age!

Unknown said...

Hi SH,

hee...nah not really tt young. Just during my poly days. Hee... Actually what I meant was tt this was a common dish in my family when I was younger. But my mum seldom cook it now these days.

Anonymous said...

How about the sambal chilli paste that goes with the dish? The one along Cuppage Plaza used to serve an excellent claypot chicken rice. Add the chilli and stir it in for that piquant touch.

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Anonymous, as my kids can't really eat too spicy food, we ususally omit the chilli. Next time I may add in the chilli separately, thanks for the idea :D

Giuseppe Martinengo said...

I really loved your blog.I loved that are pictures and recipes and the trubled that we can have.
Thanks so much

Lara said...

This is brilliant.....i am going to try it tomorrow itself:)))
- Lara - India

Sharon said...

Dear Happy Homebaker,
thanks for sharing this wonderful and delightful dish. I am going to try cooking this using your recipe. My mum used to cook something similar like this when I was a child. I have been trying to figure out the recipe and I'm glad I visited your blog. Your dishes look really yum!

Being a newbie homemaker myself, I have just started cooking and my own bog recently. Hope to learn lots of cooking tips from you. :) Once again, thanks for sharing your lovely recipes in your blog.

jacqi said...

hi:) as a student your recipes r particularly endearing! simple and budget friendly and a touch of home<3 so thanks a lot!!
about d chicken for this one, does it need to be deboned?

Happy Homebaker said...

hi jacqi, thanks for visiting :) It is not necessary to debone the chicken. happy cooking!

Anonymous said...

really delicious

Anonymous said...

Hi HHB! Thank you for sharing this recipe! I am a student and want to attempt cooking this for my family! How do you cook it such that it looks so sticky like glutinous rice and till it has this colour! Will adding oyster sauce make it taste better? Thank you! :)

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi, i think it is the amount of water and also maybe the type of rice used. Some rice (especially 'new' rice) tend to be softer, more sticky. Yes you can add oyster sauce.