TIME-SAVING meals like chicken rice cooked in this French Pot* is a boon on busy days especially when many of us are working from home amidst the pandemic. All this one-pot meal needs are some greens to round off the carbs and protein. And if you’re hankering for fresh air and the outdoors over the weekend, pack this chicken rice with plates and cutlery; round up the family and drive to the nearest park for an outing.
Total Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: 3/5
Cost: S$10.00
Serves: 2-4 persons
A: Main Ingredients
300g long grain rice
80g, approximately 6 fresh Shiitake mushrooms
280g chicken thighs, deboned and diced into large cubes
1 Chinese liver sausage (lap cheong), blanched*
1 XO Chinese sausage (lap cheong), blanched*
4-5 stalks green leafy vegetables, rinsed and blanched
1.5 tablespoons dark soy sauce
Sea salt, to taste
5 slices ginger
2 stalks spring onion, white portion only
240ml water or chicken stock
B: Marinade
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine (Hua Tiao)
2 tablespoons grated ginger
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced to yield 1 tablespoon
DIRECTIONS:
1. Marinate chicken with B ingredients for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator for flavours to penetrate into the chicken.
2. Wash and rinse rice and set it aside.
3. Preheat oven to 200°C.
4. Give shiitake mushrooms a quick rinse under a running tap. Using paper towels, pat them dry. Cut each mushroom into halves.
5. Heat up 500ml water in a small pot until it boils. Add in sausages to blanch for 1 minute. Remove sausage casing, slice and set aside. Opt for both meat sausages if you’re not partial to liver sausages.
6. Pour in water or chicken stock. Add rice, pinch of salt, ginger and spring onions into a French pot or casserole. Cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat over the stove until half-cooked. Note: Chicken stock adds more flavour to the dish.
7. Remove sliced ginger and spring onion. Discard.
8. Arrange chicken, mushrooms and sausage on top of rice. Cover pot and place it into the oven. 
9. Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile blanch vegetables and set them aside.
11. Remove cover. Bake another 10 minutes. To get more char on the bottom crust, switch oven setting to fan mode. This gives oven temperature a 10% spike in heat as hot air is circulated, resulting in even browning.
12. Take pot out from the oven. Drizzle dark soy sauce over and mix it up well.
13. Serve with blanched with green leafy vegetables. Using a slotted spoon, scoop into rice bowls for individual portions.
*TIP: The French Pot is similar to a Dutch oven, and is conducive for retaining heat and flavours of the food. Apart from the French Pot, a casserole, Chinese claypot or any heavy duty casserole vessel can be used. BUYING TIP: Chinese sausages are made with either pork or duck/pork liver. Purchase according to your preferred choice.
TECHNIQUES: Blanching lap cheong in hot water softens the casing or skin, loosening it and making it easy to peel the entire piece off.
Photos: Gina Tan
Gina is a passionate home-baker whose bakes, a labour of love for her children turned into a full time career churning out sweet and savoury treats under “Baking with Gina”.
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