Clay Pot Rice With Chicken and Sausage

Name: Clay Pot Rice With Chicken and Sausage
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 1 h 10 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: chinese
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 tablespoon oyster sauce; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper; 2 scallions, whites and greens separated, thinly sliced; 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (1 1/2 pounds); 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice; 2 links (3 ounces) lop cheong (Chinese sausage), thinly sliced, or 2 slices thick-cut maple bacon, cut into small pieces; 3 tablespoons dark or regular soy sauce; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon Chinkiang (black) vinegar or balsamic vinegar; 1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper; 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves (optional)

By Genevieve Ko

Updated Oct. 12, 2023

Clay Pot Rice With Chicken and Sausage — Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Rating: 4(283)
Notes: Read community notes

A satisfying blend of sticky rice and savory meat, clay pot rice is known in Cantonese as bo zai fan. This Southern Chinese dish simmers, then steams, rice with sausages, bacon or both, so that their fat coats the grains and helps create a crackling crust on the bottom of the pot. In this variation, marinated chicken is nestled into the mix, its meat making for a more substantial meal. Lop cheong, a Cantonese sausage that’s a little sweet, is available in Chinese markets, but other sweet cured pork, like maple bacon, works as well. Even though this meal is named for the pot in which it’s cooked, a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet works, too.

Featured in: The Best Cuts of Chicken Hold the Most Flavor. It’s in Their Bones.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Chicken Rice

2tablespoons soy sauce
1tablespoon oyster sauce
1tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1teaspoon sesame oil
1teaspoon granulated sugar
½teaspoon ground white or black pepper
2scallions, whites and greens separated, thinly sliced
4bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (1½ pounds)
1½cups jasmine rice
2links (3 ounces) lop cheong (Chinese sausage), thinly sliced, or 2 slices thick-cut maple bacon, cut into small pieces

For Serving

3tablespoons dark or regular soy sauce
1teaspoon sesame oil
½teaspoon granulated sugar
½teaspoon Chinkiang (black) vinegar or balsamic vinegar
¼teaspoon ground white or black pepper
¼cup chopped cilantro leaves (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Prepare the chicken rice: Mix the soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, pepper and scallion whites in a large bowl. Slice the chicken alongside the bone, cutting off 2 pieces of meat per thigh. Cut those pieces into 1 ½-inch chunks and add to the bowl, along with the 4 thigh bones that still have some meat on them. Mix well to coat, then cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 day.
Step 2
Rinse the rice in a strainer until the water runs clear. Spread in a large clay pot, a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet with a lid and add 2 cups hot tap water. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, prepare the serving sauce: In a small bowl, stir the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, vinegar and pepper until the sugar dissolves.
Step 4
Spread the chicken with its marinade in an even layer over the rice, nestling the bones into the rice. Scatter the lop cheong evenly over the chicken. Cover and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue cooking until the chicken and rice are cooked through, 25 to 35 minutes. Taste a grain of rice to see if it’s tender and cut into a piece of chicken to make sure it has lost its pinkness.
Step 5
Uncover the pot and raise the heat to high. Cook until you hear the rice crackling against the bottom and smell its toastiness, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Step 6
To serve, drizzle a spoonful of the serving sauce over the chicken and gently fold into the rice without scraping up the bottom. Sprinkle with the scallion greens and cilantro, if using, and serve with the remaining sauce. After most of the dish has been eaten, use a thin spatula to scrape up the charred rice on the bottom. It comes off more easily after the pot has cooled a bit.

Ratings

4 out of 5

283 user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Cooking in San Francisco1 year ago

My family is from Hong Kong and this recipe is spot-on like the one we make! If you don’t eat pork, sub in shiitakes that have been marinated with the chicken. It’s a common combination. If you don’t have a clay pot, use your Dutch oven. I often do so that I get more rice crust (think Chinese socorat or tahdig). If your rice is soggy, at the end of the cooking time wrap the pot lid in a dish towel and return the lid to the pot for 10 minutes or so. The towel will absorb the extra moisture.

Celeste1 year ago

I have a romertopf clay cooker, but I can't imagine putting it on a open flame--only in the oven. Can you really put a clay pot on a stove top?

Janis1 year ago

No your Romertopf should not go on the stovetop as it will crack. The vessels used for this kind of clay pot rice are specially designed for stovetop use, and can be found at Asian markets or restaurant supply stores. If you don't have one you're better off using a heavy stovetop-save pan like dutch oven or cast iron skillet as suggested in the introduction.

Caroline Franco1 year ago

I'm curious about whether you can do this recipe in a Romertopf clay cooker? I have an old one that I haven't used in years and I want to start using it again. Any thoughts?

Kevin1 year ago

Just leave out the sausage if you don't cook/eat it. There are many different variations of the claypot rice and one is simply chicken and shiitake mushrooms, marinaded and made the same as above.

Beth Porter1 year ago

Could this be cooked in a La Crueset, Dutch oven?

Helen K.1 year ago

I use kosher turkey sausages (Aaron's), thinly sliced, or kosher beef salami (sautées or grills down nicely), cubed. It adds that fat and taste and always works for our family in recipes calling for pork or sausages.

Lynn1 year ago

I'm pretty sure the last step implies that you eat the crusty scrapings as a treat "after most of the dish has been eaten". If you scrape them up sooner it's more difficult when hot, and whatever is then tossed in with the rest of the dish with lose it's crispiness.

csergent1 year ago

I think the clay pot is the kind you find in Chinese grocery store, it's thick & glazed. I bought one but never use it yet. Will definitely try this recipe with.

Sally1 year ago

You cannot use a Romertopf clay pot on an open flame or stovetop.

ssc1 year ago

Followed the recipe precisely. Rice came out mushy. Disappointing.

Sam3 months ago

Not bad! I think I used the wrong kind of “Chinese sausage” (a kind sold at my regular supermarket, basically like Italian sausage with different spices) but the chicken came out just right at 25 min and the rice was super flavorful. Didn’t bother trying to crisp up the rice at the end, just cooked off some extra water. I don’t think I nailed it but would try again.

Canadagirly4 months ago

Made again for me and Steve. Yummy!

Becky5 months ago

I used sushi rice. Followed the directions exactly in a dutch oven. Thought the meal was amazing! Didn’t get around to the rice in the bottom of the pot because I was sated. Will get to that tomorrow.

Imbrod6 months ago

This was pretty tasty and low effort. As always I made a few minor modifications : used short grain rice instead of jasmine, as I like sticky rice. Boneless thighs, a bit less regular soy sauce (sodium levels are scary as written!), added some julienned ginger. Next time — and there will be a next time! — I’ll add a couple of soaked and slivered shiitakes.

fiddlebbb7 months ago

So, I cooked this for about 45 minutes in the le creuset. It was mushy and overdone. The flavors were good tho. I think I should try a different kind of Chinese sausage as this one was too sweet, but I only used one of them and froze the other 2 so I still have to use them somehow. I am not sure how one would get the crispness in the rice other than perfect timing. This has potential however

Steve-o11 months ago

Tips! 1. If you don't have Chinese sausage, do not make this. The sausage is the dominant flavor. (Balsamic and sherry are also poor substitutes, but probably not as big a problem.) 2. For crispy rice, finish in non-stick pan w/ oil over high heat. Spread rice in thin layer. Easy clean-up, works for reheating too. 3. Boneless, skinless thighs work fine. 4. You need to dial in cook time and temp to your pot and stove, but if you do, results are good.

Sharon1 year ago

I love the flavors, but it's easy to overcook the rice.

V1 year ago

This is a great recipe, but it doesn't have enough salt for the chicken. I would season the chicken with salt as you would if you were cooking it on its own and let it work through the chicken a half hour before starting the rest, and keep the same amt of soy sauce/oyster sauce etc. The rice will absorb so much of the salt so that the whole dish is evenly seasoned by the end.

Kim1 year ago

I thought this turned out very bland.

march 20231 year ago

Took three days to clean the pot, and may have ruined it… we’ll see. Tasted good though!

Mike Linton1 year ago

Based on the comments I decided to pan fry the bacon first and then cook the chicken in a wok before cooking the rice. It came out great. I'm not sure it would have been if the skin was steamed.

michelle1 year ago

Made as instructed and came out lovely in an enamelled brasier. Just like sticky rice at dim sum but with a crust. I fried an egg a la babimbop style and added kim chi to the bowl.

David B.1 year ago

I followed the instructions and everything came out well. The rice was perfectly cooked. The rice completely stuck to my dutch oven, so there was no crispy rice treat.

Stacy1 year ago

Pleasantly surprised at how well this turned out. Didn’t want an extra trip to the Asian market for the sausage, and steaming bacon just seemed wrong, so subbed out pre-cooked maple breakfast sausage - a little sweet, a little spicy. Marinated the chicken overnight, used white pepper (it’s a particular flavor), and a 6qt enameled Dutch oven. Followed recipe exactly and everything cooked in 25 minutes. Reminds me of the sticky rice you get at dim sum.

Patrick K.1 year ago

This was not good at all. The rice ended up a gruelly mush, the chicken was somehow fairly flavorless despite all the ingredients, the skin was flabby and gross, and the bacon was also just limp and rubbery because everything was steamed, which doesn't really work with this amount of fat content. Epic fail. Gave most of it to the dog.

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