Claypot Chicken Rice with Lap Cheong and Shiitake Mushrooms
This easy adaptation of traditional Claypot Chicken Rice features savory chicken, aromatic rice, and a mix of chewy lap cheong sausage, savory and juicy shiitake mushrooms, and crunchy water chestnuts. Cooked in the Cuckoo Rice Cooker, this comforting meal is perfect for enjoying authentic flavors with modern convenience.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 1 Rice Cooker I love the Cuckoo Induction Heating Twin Pressure Rice Cooker.
- 1 12" Cast Iron Lodge Skillet I prefer cooking in a cast iron pan for the crispyness it imparts.
Ingredients
Shiitake Mushroom Soak
- 8 small dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrated and halved *(approximately 1/2 cup of mushrooms) (reserve 1/4 cup mushroom soaking water to cook rice)
Chicken Marinade
- 10 oz boneless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped and divided (half to marinate chicken, half to stir-fry into meats)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce or regular soy sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry (for marinating chicken)
- 3 Chinese lap cheong sausages sliced diagonally into 1/4-inch slices
- 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry (for deglazing pan)
Veggie Mix
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil I use canola, avocado, or grapeseed, divided (half to stir-fry veggies, half to stirfry meat)
- 2 tbsp ginger slivered and divided (half to stir-fry with vegetables, half to mix with rice)
- 2 scallions finely chopped (green and white parts separated) whites to stir-fry with vegetables, greens to garnish.
- 1 large shallot slivered
- 7 water chestnuts drained and sliced into quarter-sized circles (approximately 1/3 cup)
Rice Cook
- 1 cup jasmine rice washed until water is almost clear
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup reserved mushroom soaking water
Instructions
Mushroom Soaking
- Put the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof container to rehydrate them. I like to use my 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Cover the mushrooms in boiling water or very hot water and soak until they are soft and tender, approximately 30-60 minutes or until very soft. In a pinch, if I forget to soak them, I'll cover them and microwave for a few minutes, and then let them cool down before using.
- Squeeze the water out of the soaked mushrooms. Trim the tough stems, and cut them in half. Set aside.
Chicken Marinade
- In a medium bowl, toss the chicken cubes with half of the garlic (~1.5 cloves), cornstarch, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, black pepper, sugar, sesame oil and 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine.
- Stir until all ingredients are thoroughly combined, making sure the chicken pieces are covered with the cornstarch slurry.
- Set aside for at least 30 minutes so the chicken will be tender.
Aromatics and Vegetable Par-Cook Stir-fry
- Put 1 tbsp oil in skillet set over medium heat, let the oil heat up until starting to shimmer.
- Put half of the ginger (1 tbsp), white part of the scallions, and shallot in the pan and stir quickly for 15 seconds.
- Add water chestnuts and softened shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Set vegetables aside.
Meat Par-Cook Stir-fry
- Using same skillet without washing, turn stove onto medium heat and add lap cheong. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add rest of garlic (~1.5 cloves) and stir for another 30 seconds.
- Add 1 tbsp remaining oil to skillet, and then add marinated chicken.
- Stir-fry chicken for 1 minute, until the outside of all pieces have just turned white. (The inside will still be raw. However, the meat will finish cooking in the rice cooker.) This is similar to my Velvet Chicken recipe, which you can find in the notes below. It allows the cornstarch coating to set on the chicken to keep it juicy.
Rice and Claypot Chicken Cook
- Wash rice in a colander, or strainer set over a bowl, so that you don't lose extra rice. Drain rice when water is almost clear.
- Put rice in Cuckoo Rice Cooker with remaining ginger slivers (1 tbsp). Stir to incorporate.
- Layer chicken and lap cheong mixture on top of rice.
- Layer veggies mix on top of Chicken. (Do not stir together until after cooked)
- Cook on non-pressure white rice setting. (approximately 33 minutes)
- When rice is done, stir together all components, dish up, garnish with scallion greens, and enjoy!
Notes
* Rehydrating Mushroom Instructions:
Put the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof container to rehydrate them. I like to use my 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Cover the mushrooms in boiling water or very hot water and soak until they are soft and tender, approximately 15-30 minutes. In a pinch, if I forget to soak them, I'll cover them and microwave for a few minutes, and then let them cool down before using. *How to Velvet Chicken: This technique involves marinating chicken with cornstarch and then quickly blanching it in water or oil before using it in a stir-fry. It helps keep the chicken tender and juicy.
Put the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heatproof container to rehydrate them. I like to use my 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Cover the mushrooms in boiling water or very hot water and soak until they are soft and tender, approximately 15-30 minutes. In a pinch, if I forget to soak them, I'll cover them and microwave for a few minutes, and then let them cool down before using. *How to Velvet Chicken: This technique involves marinating chicken with cornstarch and then quickly blanching it in water or oil before using it in a stir-fry. It helps keep the chicken tender and juicy.