Claypot Chicken And Mushrooms
I was recently fortunate enough to pick up a clay pot for only USD $2.99 at one of the many popular "99 Ranch" Asian grocery stores here in Southern California. Since then, my regular pots have been collecting dust in the sidelines. My tastebuds, on the other hand, aren't complaining about the more tender and flavorful dishes produced with my new "toy".
Clay pot cooking is very much like a steaming process. Before cooking, soak the clay pot in water for about 15 minutes. That way, the water that's absorbed in the clay is released as steam during the cooking process, thus sealing the juices of the dish inside the clay pot while keeping any meat moist and tender.
Clay Pot Rice and Clay Pot Noodles are two of the more popular clay pot recipes in the Cantonese cuisine. I can't wait to whip both of them up anytime soon. But for today, since I'm short on Chinese sausage and salted fish, I'm going to stick with one of my mom's that I enjoyed growing up - Clay Pot Chicken and Mushroom recipe.
Clay pot cooking is very much like a steaming process. Before cooking, soak the clay pot in water for about 15 minutes. That way, the water that's absorbed in the clay is released as steam during the cooking process, thus sealing the juices of the dish inside the clay pot while keeping any meat moist and tender.
Clay Pot Rice and Clay Pot Noodles are two of the more popular clay pot recipes in the Cantonese cuisine. I can't wait to whip both of them up anytime soon. But for today, since I'm short on Chinese sausage and salted fish, I'm going to stick with one of my mom's that I enjoyed growing up - Clay Pot Chicken and Mushroom recipe.
Other than shitake mushroom, I'm also going to use some "cloud ear" mushroom that I've been saving for this dish. The shitake mushroom is for the flavor whereas the "cloud ear" mushroom is for that interesting crunchy texture that I enjoy. The "cloud ear" mushroom may also be substituted with it's thicker cousin, the "wood ear" mushroom, like the ones you might find in hot and sour soups.A final word on the clay pot before I move on to the recipe. Dish-washing detergent should not be used to clean them because it will absorb into the clay. I've read that scrubbing them with salt is the preferred cleaning method.
Clay Pot Chicken and Mushroom Recipe
Ingredients :
1 whole chicken ( about 2 lbs, cut into serving pieces )
green onion strips
ginger strips
3 tbsp shaoxing hua tiao wine ( OR any other chinese cooking wine )
cloud ear mushroom ( soaked and cut )
shitake mushroom ( soaked and sliced )
4 tbsp oyster sauce
white pepper
sesame oil
cornstarch solution
sugar and salt to taste
Method :
1) Saute the ginger, green onion, cloud ear and shitake mushroom in the clay pot until fragrant.
2) Add the chicken in, pan fry the chicken pieces on both sides until lightly browned.
3) Mix in the oyster sauce, chinese cooking wine, white pepper, sesame oil and water. ( up to your preference on how saucy you like it to be )
4) Cover the clay pot, and cook on medium-low heat for an additional 20 minutes.
5) Add sugar and salt to taste, cornstarch solution to thicken the gravy and mix well.
2) Add the chicken in, pan fry the chicken pieces on both sides until lightly browned.
3) Mix in the oyster sauce, chinese cooking wine, white pepper, sesame oil and water. ( up to your preference on how saucy you like it to be )
4) Cover the clay pot, and cook on medium-low heat for an additional 20 minutes.
5) Add sugar and salt to taste, cornstarch solution to thicken the gravy and mix well.
Labels: Asian Mushrooms, Cantonese Cuisine, chinese food recipes, clay pot cooking, shitake mushroom, Slow Cooking, wood ear mushroom
Posted by Melting Wok
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32 Comments:
2.99 for the claypot? It's a steal, man! I used to have a claypot bac @home but I did not bring it here coz I find cleaning it a chore. :o
Now time for supper liow...make me even hungrier when my fridge is so empty...*stomach growling*...OMG!
tiger, eat your fei2 egg tarts, any left ? hehe :) Btw, cleaning claypot is quite easy to me leh, no ? Use some cooking spray before cooking in the clay pot.
I find if you cook food in claypot with charcoal even better.
Where is your hum yu (ikan masin)? Aiya, should have asked me, I still have my precious in my fridge, kekekeke. :P
Thanks for the tip on how to clean the claypot. I've been thinking of getting one to make claypot chicken rice with Chinese sausage. So far I made that w/o the claypot. For some reason I think the claypot gives the dish a better flavor.
hehehe i call them monkey ear mushrooms
Congratulations!!!!!
I've been trying to lose weight forever and it's so hard!
u can't blame us 4 feeling like v wanna 1 u now & 4ever, V mean da food ok ! & u oso...
definitely can . conirm oredi.
This looks great! I've heard a lot about clay pot chicken, but've never tried it. i think I should go and get me a clay pot!
Clay pot chicken sounds delicious! Great photos of the cloud ears, too... yum :)
u make me wanna have claypot rice....
maybe i should go back to the one that I posted on me bloggie. hehe...
you have all my fav ingredients in it!!!
Meltingwok, the first time I used claypot, the bottom layer was burnt with rice (chao tar!!!) :O
Sooooo hard to clean...then subsequently became scared liow (so all my sa-bo fix were dine-outs)
OK, I will use it provided I can get one as cheap as yours (or lagi better-hopefully those that are bundled as free gift when you buy something else....buahahahhaha). That's how my claypot came from (that's why bad quality hor?)
i saw some claypots at the store too. :) they were cheap! i wonder if i could get one. how big is yours?
claypot! gotta get tht thing. hubby pening oredi. evrytime i see ur's & rm's blog i wanna make something n have 2 buy new thing 4 da kitchen!lol!
I'm so glad you posted these recipes for claypot cooking. I see the pots in my Asian grocery all the time, and I've been mighty tempted to buy one, but I had no idea how to cook in them. Thank you!
mmm...looks good. I'll have to go by my local Ranch 99 and pick one up. Only question though -- we have electric stove so I'm wondering if I can use claypot on it.
Claypot good for keeping food warmer for a longer time, hor?
Thx for d tip on soaking the pot first but won't water drip into d fire?
Btw, team bsg, that comment-ar, claypot oso can melt mien. :>
Ooooh la la...it's now out in the open, "want you now and forever," wait a minute, I punya bulu suddenly all terdiri. :P
Malaykid - never mind, can start a food blog and make them to good use...we will pimp you. OK?
RM, not bad like a stand up comedy blog named minahChis' hahah, MK be the prez, and we'll be holding our hoola hoops cheering with our sarong kebaya ? hahaha, Malaykid, how ?
malaykid, if I see it next time, I'll get it for u, ok ? :)
tummy, 1)wash & clean, 2) wipe dry, 3) put on the stove, better ? btw, high fire puts out the water *grins*
pablo, the soul purpose of using claypot is to deliver balanced cooking and better flavors in the foods. However, to keep the foods warm for a longer time, I usually use the crock pot instead.
mina, electric stove is gonna be fine :) Even when I use it on stove, I first have to set the stove to low heat to slowly heat the clay pot, otherwise if not careful, you might get some cracks there.
lydia, thanks, glad that you find the post informative enough for you to get out and get a clay pot yourself, sometimes the westerners calls it sand pot. Yes, you should get it and make stews, its a great investment, can't go wrong there :)
budding, hehe, it could fit about 2 pounds chicken, perhaps bout 7/8 in. in diameter, hm..prolly 5/6 in. deep ?
tiger, you know how everytime u walk into 99 Ranch, you see all the promo stuffs at the front, and yes, usually foods and other kitchen utensils got buy one get something else free, but since the clay pot was so darn cheap, I think there's no other better deals hehe for any free stuffs. I was kinda skeptical, at first, checked out a few thoroughly before I picked one. But, I think even if they're not on sale, it would prolly run about 5.99, no more than 10 bucks. I hope you get that deal over where you at :)
keropok, that's what exactly I was thinking before I storm up my clay pot chicken :)
linda, thanks, I still haven't got any baked beans haha, perhaps I will cook that in my clay pot next time, sounds good ? :)
meena, woww, thanks for dropping by :))) Yesss, I cooked my curries in the clay pot too, all the herbs and spices were infused nicely :)
toni, quick !! go send your team out to storm up some sticky rice with salted fish clay pot rice :P
teckiee, u mean in cantonese "ma lao yee" ? hahahaa, that's new !:)
Patricia, yess, with all the sinful delicious desserts you had posted, I need some clay pot cooking to balance it out hehe :)
sims, you should get it, I really love it, the foods so flavorful and all the aromatic ingredients just infused nicely in the clay pot :)
RM, been using them for vege stir frys, so not much left, plus it costs a bomb here, like 5.99/lb :(
Precious, yup, wish I have one, perhaps I could put that on top of the charcoaled grill next time ? :)
yes yes. pls get me 1 tq. i shud check out 99 ranch one of these days. sick of ralph and vons.
eh, not ready to have a blog lah. maybe 1 day but not now. ;)
Hi Shirley! I made it to your blog too :)
I never know that dish-washing detergent can't be used on claypots, now I learnt something new!
wouuuuaaaaaw!! god!!
thats it seals the deal. i'm getting a clay pot this weekend. no 99 ranch nearby to me , sniff :( chicken looks delish, droool. we had black cod tonight simple with butter and lemon. yums!
First time commenting here and must say you have a wonderful food blog going here and its just 3 months old and you have quite a few fabulous recipes.
For starters..:), I am going to try your chicken lollipops on Sunday!!!
malaykid, ok :)
mickymath, merci !! :) Thank you for dropping by, I will check out your blog :)
lin, thx for the invite and I'm glad you find some useful info here :)
Aria, will it be ketchup and cod this time ? *grins* Quick, get it and you can start clay potting with your leftovers salted cods :)
Sailaja, thanks for coming by :) You could substitute the fermented red beancurd with indian spices, and let me know how it turns out, ok ? Cheers !:)
oh wow MW, that looks AMAZING! I've bookmarked it to try at a later date :) lovely blog you've got here :)
trinigourmet, hey :)) Thx for dropping by, I love that rice you made, have you manage to finish all 2 pots ? *grins*
This looks so scrumptious.I don't own a clay pot but now I'm tempted to get one. I like shitake mushroom in chicken dishes. I really need a dose of that dish you have right now. I'm coming back for this recipe once I get my clay pot!
veron Hiii :) Thanks for dropping by :) So glad I got you enthusiast enough to want to give the clay pot chicken a shot, great :) Let me know how you like it and yes, those shitake mushrooms are heavenly sent, cheers :)
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