Wa Bao Fan 瓦煲飯 Claypot Rice With Chicken, Chinese Sausage And Salted Fish - "Malaysian Monday 72"

Claypot rice is a Cantonese staple that can be found all over Malaysia. It is hard not to notice the rolls of charcoal burners and claypots of different sizes blazing away while hungry customers wait patiently for their delicious one-pot meal, otherwise the wonderful aroma will tell you there is a such a stall nearby.

Some claypot rice sellers these days offer luxury items such as abalone and fresh water prawns to be added to the rustic one-pot meal, often charging ridiculous prices for this once humble and affordable everyday dish. My opinion is stick to the basics and that was exactly what I did with my version here. 

The weather has been extremely mild for this time of the year to allow this comforting meal to appear on our table...blessed!

P.S You may add some presoaked Chinese mushrooms to the recipe. Use halal Chinese sausage made from chicken and omit the Chinese cooking wine for a halal version. 

serves 1 or 2 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
1 chinese sausage, steamed and sliced
2 chicken thighs (~200g), cut into manageable pieces
1 small piece of salted fish
2 spring onions, cut into 5cm lengths
1 cup of rice, washed and rinsed
1.5 cups of water
chopped spring onions to serve
sliced chilies to serve
1 very fresh free range egg

for the chicken marinade;
1 clove of garlic, grated
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 tbs of soy
1 tsp of sesame oil
a dash of chinese cooking wine
1 tsp of corn flour

for the sauce;
2 tbs of light soy
1 tbs of dark soy
1 tsp of castor sugar
1/e tsp of sesame oil

Steam chinese sausage until it plumps up, cool slightly before slicing. Prepare the rest of the ingredients and set aside.

Marinate chicken pieces with the marinade for at least an hour then mix in the sausage and spring onions.

I used salted mackerel and this is how it looks like. Check the cold storage department of you Asian grocer.

Pan fry a small piece of the salted mackerel on medium heat until golden, remove and allow to cool.

Place rice and water in a claypot and bring it to a simmer, add the chicken, sausage and spring onions, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.

Pour in the sauce and put the cover back on and cook for a further 5 minutes. Increase the heat for a delicious light crust to form on the bottom of the pot. Break up the salted fish into pieces and add to the pot.

Top with chopped spring onions and chili rings and break an egg in.

Mix well and enjoy with extra sliced chillies with soy on the side.

I am hosting this month's event so please send all your entries to me at sureshchong@yahoo.com, to find out more about Muhibbah Malaysian Monday and on how to participate, simply click HERE. I will be waiting!