Clay Pot Rice Recipe in Cantonese Style 

Clay Pot Rice Recipe in Cantonese Style  Even after prolonged steaming, velveting done correctly can make a relatively lean cut of meat moist and tender.

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WHY IT SUCCESS?

Tender, succulent meat is produced when cornstarch is added to the marinade and coats the chicken in a layer of starch.

When the chicken is steamed on top of the rice, the juices and rendered fats seep down and flavor the grains.

When choosing what to cook on top of Cantonese clay pot rice—a well-known dish that consists of rice that is steamed and then crisped in a clay pot—there are a few things to take into account. The best dishes are those that can hold onto their moisture even after 20 minutes of steaming, as this is how long clay pot rice typically takes to cook. This is because the toppings cook directly on top of the rice. When cooked correctly, the toppings should pour their juices over the rice, soaking the grains in fat and flavor (even at low heat, this is much longer than the cooking time needed for most steamed Cantonese dishes).

What Does Velveting Mean?

Using a coating of starch, the Chinese cooking method known as “velveting” gives the meat a silky smooth texture. Proteins are usually marinated in a mixture of egg whites and cornstarch, and the resulting extremely tender meat is set by blanching it in hot water or oil. Since Irene Kuo first described velveting in her 1977 book The Key to Chinese Cooking, the technique has been covered in great detail in English literature; however, most Chinese chefs do not refer to it by the same name. They just state that they are marinating meat in starch rather than calling the process “velveting.”

Ingredients

Seasoned Soy Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon (15ml) lard, schmaltz, or neutral oil
• 1 scallion, root end trimmed, white and green parts cut into 1-inch segments
• 1 small shallot (1 ounce; 30g), thinly sliced
• 1 ounce (30g) cilantro (about 1/2 bunch), cut into 1-inch segments (about 1/3 cup)
• 4 medium cloves garlic (20g), smashed
• One 1-inch knob of fresh peeled ginger (10g), sliced thinly
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Shaoxing wine
• 1/3 cup (80ml) water
• 1/3 cup (80ml) light soy sauce
• 1/3 cup (80ml) dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30g) granulated sugar

Rice:

• 1 cup jasmine rice or an equal-parts mix of jasmine and short-grain (such as koshihikari) rice (7 ounces; 200g), see notes
• 1 cup (240ml) hot water
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) lard, schmaltz, or neutral oil

Wash Chicken:

• 1 bone-in, skin on chicken leg (200g), chopped into 1-inch pieces with a cleaver
• 1 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt (9g); for table salt, use half as much by volume or the same weight
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Marinating the Chicken:

• 2 teaspoons (10ml) Shaoxing wine
• 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use a pinch
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) vegetable or other neutral oil
• 1 teaspoon (5ml) light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) oyster sauce
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch (0.3 ounce; 8g)
• One 1-inch knob fresh peeled ginger (about 3/4 ounce; 20g), peeled, smashed, and sliced thinly
• 3 dried shiitake mushrooms (11g), washed and soaked for at least 1 hour and up to overnight, thinly sliced

Instructions

For the Seasoned Soy Sauce:

1. To make the seasoned soy sauce, melt the fat in a small saucepan over medium heat for about a minute, or until it shimmers. Scallions, shallot, cilantro, garlic, and ginger should be added. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring the pan from time to time, until aromatics become fragrant and start to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Stir in the sugar, water, light and dark soy sauces, and Shaoxing wine. Over high heat, bring to a boil. After that, lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 7 minutes. Smooth, dark, and a tad thicker than light soy sauce from a bottle, this sauce should be. Transfer the seasoned soy sauce into a medium heatproof bowl by passing it through a fine-mesh strainer. Chill until very cold.

Meanwhile, Wash the Chicken

2. In the meantime, wash the chicken by submerging it in water in a medium-sized bowl and rinsing off as much blood as you can. To tenderize and remove as much of the remaining blood from the chicken, add 1 cup of water, salt, and baking soda, and massage. Thoroughly drain, gently squeeze to extract maximum moisture, and reserve.

For the Rice

3. Put the short-grain and jasmine rice in a big bowl and add two inches of cool water to cover. Shake the rice vigorously with your hands for about 30 seconds, or until the water becomes hazy. Drain the rice through a fine-mesh strainer, throwing away the hazy soaking water. (A single rinse preserves more of the starch and flavors in the rice.) Soak the rice for at least one hour and up to three hours, covering it with at least twice as much water. Once the rice is done soaking, make sure to thoroughly drain it using a fine-mesh sieve. (Break a grain in half to see if the rice has soaked all the way through; there shouldn’t be a visible hard, white center.)

Make the Marinade

4. To prepare the marinade, combine the Shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, white pepper, and potato starch in a medium-sized bowl. Squeeze the chicken gently to incorporate the marinade into the meat after adding it.
5. Toss to coat, then add the ginger and shiitake mushrooms. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to two days.

Cook the Rice

6. For about two minutes, or until the clay pot is hot to the touch, place it over medium-high heat. Pour in enough water to barely cover the rice in the pot. While stirring from time to time, bring the water and rice to a boil. Once the rice and water start to bubble, give the rice one last stir to break up any clumps, and cook for about two minutes, or until the water is no longer visible above the rice.
7. Switch to low heat. Make a few small holes in the rice’s surface with a pair of chopsticks to let some air out. Arrange the shiitake mushrooms, ginger, and marinated chicken in an even layer over the rice.
8. After placing a lid on the clay pot, cook the rice and chicken over low heat for approximately ten minutes, or until the rice starts to crackle. (Avoid opening the lid; if you listen closely, you should consistently hear a sizzling crackle; if you hear loud, erratic pops, the heat is set too high.)
9. Pour oil, schmaltz, or lard over the lid’s rim and let it seep into the rice. A quarter of the clay pot’s bottom should be toasting directly over the flame when the lid is still on. Every minute, turn the clay pot so that a quarter of the pot is toasting. Continue doing this for thirteen more minutes. Take care not to burn the rice; lower the heat to low if the vapor coming from the pot reduces to a single, slow wisp or if you start to smell smoke. When the rice stops sizzling and the steam slows down, it’s done. Turn off the heat and give the clay pot two minutes to rest.

To Serve

10. To serve, take off the lid and pour in the required quantity of seasoned soy sauce, making sure to thoroughly mix it in. Divide the portions into smaller individual bowls and serve directly from the clay pot. When the majority of the rice has been served, scrape up the crispy rice from the bottom with a metal spoon and crumble it into the fluffier rice mixture if desired 카지노사이트.