Clay Pot Rice (Bao Zai Fan)
Bao zai fan is just like my one-pot taro rice recipe, but this time I used a clay pot to cook rice with the meaty ingredients. It gives a contrast of flavors and textures with its variety of ingredients, including Chinese sausages, Chinese cured pork belly, corn, and yu choy. Enjoy its signature crispy scorched rice base and the delightful soy sauce-based sauce.
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice (or more if desired)
- Oil (for brushing the pot)
- Water (about 1 cm higher than the rice level, the ratio of rice to liquid should be approximately 1: 1 by volume.)
- 2 pc Chinese sausages
- 1 pc Chinese cured pork belly
- A drizzle of oil (for pouring on the clay pot cover)
- 2 tbsp corn kernels
- 2 stalk Yu choy or your choice of vegetables
- Chopped green onions (for garnish)
- 10 g chopped red onions
- 1 tbsp hot oil
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- Salt (to taste)
- Red chili peppers (optional for spice)
Instructions
- 1
Clean the rice with water to remove the excess starch. No need to soak the rice. Drain the water right away after cleaning.
- 2
Heat the clay pot with oil. Use an oil brush to spread the oil throughout the pot.
- 3
Add the cleaned rice and flatten it. Pour water at about 1cm higher than the rice level. The ratio of rice to liquid should be approximately 1:1 by volume.
- 4
Add the Chinese sausage and Chinese cured pork belly on top of the rice.
- 5
Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Cooking time may vary, depending on the clay pot and the amount of rice you use. Cooking on medium heat is best to achieve a scorched bottom.
- 6
Once it starts smoking, open the pot and poke a few holes in the rice using chopsticks.
- 7
Cover the pot again and drizzle oil around the lid's edges. Swirl and tilt the clay pot at various positions to evenly heat it. Do this for another 2 minutes. If the oil does not sip into the pot, you may need to open the lid slightly to let the oil drip inside the pot. Remember, avoid opening the lid too frequently since you want to achieve a crunchy bottom layer.
- 8
Take out the Chinese sausage and Chinese cured pork belly and chop them into thin round slices. Add the boiled corn kernels, chopped Chinese sausage, chopped Chinese cured pork belly, and blanched yu choy. Cover the pot and continue cooking for 1 minute. If you detect a burnt aroma already, it is best to remove it from heat to prevent overcooking or burning the bottom of the rice. The aroma you want should be nutty and toasty.
- 9
Prepare the sauce. Mix chopped red onions, hot oil, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt, and chopped red chili peppers (optional for spice). Pour the sauce over the cooked rice.
- 10
Sprinkle chopped green onions on top. Mix the rice well to evenly spread the sauce and toppings. By this time, you should be able to scoop out the scorched bottom.