Chinese claypot rice (bo zai fan with lap cheong and lap yuk)

Method

• step 1

  Start by washing the rice. Put the rice into a bowl, add enough water to cover, then use your hand to agitate the rice and swirl the grains. You’ll see the water go cloudy – discard the cloudy water, fill it up with clean water and repeat at least three times until the water runs clear. Add 500ml of water and soak the rice for 30 mins. It’s important not to miss the soaking step as this helps the rice cook through evenly.

• step 2

  Next, mix all the sauce ingredients together.

• step 3

  You can either make this dish in a clay pot or a rice cooker. In a rice cooker, put the meat on top of the washed, uncooked rice, press the button and cook. By cooking the meat and rice together, the fat from the meat seeps into the rice.

• step 4

  For those using a pan or clay pot, bring the rice to a boil on high heat and cover with a lid. Once bubbling, turn the flame down to the lowest setting and cook for 12 mins. Switch off the heat and let the rice stand for 1 min with the lid still on. Once steamed, take out the meat and slice it.

• step 5

  Fluff the rice, return the meat to the rice along with the sauce, spring onions and an extra drizzle of sesame oil. Have fun stirring the rice and make a glorious mess together. Serve with greens or pak choi, or eat as it is.