Chicken and Sausage Rice Pot

I enjoy watching the Asian Food Channel, including the shows that go to hawker stalls and out-of-the-way food stalls. Even if I don't understand the language and get by with the english subtitles-it's as if there were times I could almost imagine how the dish tastes like!

There was one such time when I saw a feature (in Malaysia I'm guessing) where the stall is known for its chicken and sausage rice. What caught my attention were the clay pots that were being cooked over wood fire. I see it in Japanese 99 peso stores and have wondered if one can actually cook with it and how. I like the partly glazed and partly rough parts which reminds me of pottery and white "palayok".

Now, I actually had the good excuse to buy and try! I got 2 pieces from the Daisu store one Sunday. I thought to myself, if I were successful I would have multiple servings OR if I were to break one pot, I would still have one left!

The process seemed easy enough and the ingredients are something I often have in my refrigerator. In fact, I have a similar dish months ago. Since it was a feature story, there were no recipes nor measurements which made the experimentation more fun. When I got home, I placed about a cup of water and let it boil. I figured I should "warm it up" so it won't crack when I began to cook. (But that's just me).

Next, I didn't want to slave over hot coals and decided to try on my trusty stove in the meantime. The only effort in this dish was the simple prepping and slicing. No sauteing, no braising. Just the melting of flavors in a pot as the rice gets cooked! How easy is THAT!?!

• 1 cup of rice, uncooked. Washed and made to sit in water for about 5 minutes before draining
• 1 T grated ginger, 1-2 cloves grated garlic, pinch of salt
• 3 T vegetable oil
• 1 1/4 c water
  
• Chicken fillet, remove skin. About 200-250 gms, salt and pepper to taste (I removed meat from a leg, thigh and breast)
• 2 chinese sausages, also called chorizong macau
  

Put the rice in the pot and add water. In a small sauce pan, I warmed the vegetable oil and added the grated ginger and garlic. I gently cooked these so as not to burn them less they become bitter. I added this ginger-garlic-oil mixture to the rice and stirred. Don't forget the pinch of salt to taste.

Cook it as you would regular rice: put on high heat and when it begins to boil, turn down the heat. (When cooking rice we would usually use 1 cup water to 1 cup rice. But I learned that you have to add a little more as I guess water evaporates easily because the clay is porous.)

After a few minutes when there is less water and the rice grains begin to swell, simply put the chicken pieces and the sausage slices on top. Put back the cover and simply wait till the rice is fully cooked. Finally: serve hot, hot,hot!

In the TV show at AFC, the diners poured a thin swirl of sweet soy sauce on top and mixed it up before partaking. I prefer it, as is. The chicken juices and sausage fatty flavor seep into the rice at the bottom. Every spoonful is packed with flavor.

My kids enjoy this dish, and counts it as among their roster of comfort food.

I plan to buy 2 more claypots. So when we have the chance, I'll serve this to friends, with a side dish of blanched veggies like bokchoy or petchay. Add to that fried spring rolls for crunch and contrast, and maybe... stuffed tofu.

What if you don't have this pot? No worries! I think it works just as well with your rice cooker.

Now, how simple is THAT!?!