Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Chinese Meatloaf (肉餅煲仔飯)

Pleasantly springy and fragrant with soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine, Chinese meatloaf is delicious served on its own or atop Cantonese claypot rice.

By
Lucas Sin
Photo of chef Lucas Sin
Lucas Sin
Lucas Sin is the chef of Nice Day and Junzi Kitchen in New York, NY and New Haven, CT.
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Published June 07, 2023
Chinese meatloaf on top of Cantonese clay pot rice.

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
In This Recipe

Why It Works

  • Hand-chopping the pork creates different sized pieces for a more interesting texture.
  • Mixing the pork with force and slapping the mixture helps to release the myosin from the meat, resulting in a meatloaf that’s pleasantly bouncy, juicy, and tender.

Cantonese clay pot rice is one of the most iconic examples of Chinese rice cookery. Prepared slowly and gently in a porous, semi-glazed clay pot, the grains are fluffy and aromatic, with a satisfyingly crisp bottom for textural contrast. The dish is designed to be all about the rice—which isn’t to say that the topping isn't important, only that it's there to uplift the grain itself.

There are numerous toppings you could serve with clay pot rice: velveted chicken with shiitake mushrooms; dried Chinese sausage; freshwater eel in black bean sauce; and cured duck legs are just a few possibilities. The toppings are usually made with moist cuts of meat or seafood that have been treated in some way (like velveting) so they stay tender during the cooking process, and are all steamed directly on top of the rice, which allows the rendered fat and juices to drip down into the rice as the it cooks.  

One of the most popular toppings in Hong Kong is Chinese meatloaf. Like American meatloaf, this is a dish of ground meat mixed with other ingredients to form a delicate cake that retains its moisture as much as possible while it cooks. But while American meatloaf is typically baked and slightly crumbly, Chinese meatloaf is generally steamed and pleasantly springy. For those familiar with the "Q" texture of tapioca pearls or Chinese fish balls, which are often advertised as bouncy enough to play ping pong with,  Chinese meatloaf is not quite that elastic, and should still fall apart when pried open with chopsticks.

Two pots of Cantonese clay pot rice: one with Chinese meatloaf and another with velveted chicken.

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Myosin: The Key to Tender Meatloaf

Unlike a hamburger, where the ideal loose and crumbly texture of the patty is achieved with minimal handling of the meat and only salting the exterior of the patty, in a meatloaf we want the opposite—a more cohesive texture that is tender but springy, well seasoned throughout, and very juicy. This is accomplished by seasoning the chopped pork and then mixing it very thoroughly. The salt works to draw out myosin, a muscle protein in the pork, dissolving it into the water content of the mixture. With very aggressive mixing, the myosin binds with both the fat and the protein in the meatloaf, locking them together in a sticky emulsion that, when cooked, produces perfectly bouncy and juicy results.

How do we do such aggressive mixing? That's the fun part. The technique called for here involves a forceful technique of lifting and slapping the meat back down upon itself over and over again until the mixture is blended and sticky and all your pent up anxiety and rage has been vented into the food. Some might claim it's as good as therapy.

Hand-Chopping the Meat vs. Using Pre-Ground Pork

The key to the texture of this meatloaf is to create a duality of textures, which is best achieved by hand-chopping pork shoulder instead of purchasing ground pork. This may feel unnecessarily fussy and labor-intensive, but preparing it this way yields perfectly inconsistent pieces that provide chew and textural contrast. Though you can use pre-ground pork—which is much more convenient—I recommend taking the time to hand-chop the meat, which will allow you to have greater control over the size and consistency of the pork for a more pleasing bite. A food processor is another possible shortcut, but can result in a mince that is a little too stringy, and yield a denser meatloaf. 

To make this process as easy as possible, I recommend chilling the pork shoulder in the freezer for about 15 minutes, as the meat is easier to cut when cold and firm. Then roughly dice the pork into 1/4-inch pieces, lay it all out in a single layer on the cutting board and start mincing with a heavy knife, preferably a cleaver. At this point, you can speed it up by wielding not one but two knives, rapidly alternating the chopping motion to cover a larger surface area at once. (Fun fact: Chinese culinary students are taught a mincing technique called the “gallop chop” that mimics the sound of a horse’s gallop with the two cleavers.) The whole process should take about five minutes, and the mince is done when the pieces are just a hair larger than the size of ground meat you’d find in the store.

The Aromatics

At its most basic, Chinese meatloaf is seasoned with the usual suspects: soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, and sesame oil. But it’s often also cooked with more assertive flavorings such as salted yolks, dried squid, dried orange peel, preserved meats, and salted fish. Because the pork itself is so mild, these ingredients help elevate the meatloaf and add a deep savoriness.

Here, I suggest using a salted duck egg, which is one of the more approachable ingredients for those unfamiliar with other ingredients that may traditionally be used in meatloaf. The yolk of the salted duck egg, in particular, is creamy, unctuous, and intensely savory—there’s not much like it.

Bouncy and delicately textured, Chinese meatloaf is an excellent accompaniment to clay pot rice, and it’s not hard to see why it’s a favorite among many Hong Kongers. Served with a salted duck egg and seasoned soy sauce, it’s a deeply savory dish that many find themselves returning to over and over again.

Recipe Details

Cantonese Clay Pot Rice With Chinese Meatloaf (肉餅煲仔飯)

Prep 60 mins
Cook 30 mins
Total 90 mins
Serves 2

Ingredients

  • For the Seasoned Soy Sauce:
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) lard, schmaltz, or neutral oil 
  • 1 scallion, root end trimmed, white and green parts cut into 1-inch segments
  • 1 small shallot (1 ounce; 30g), thinly sliced
  • 1 ounce (30g) cilantro (about 1/2 bunch) cut into 1-inch segments (about 1/3 cup)
  • 4 medium cloves garlic (20g), smashed
  • One 1-inch knob fresh peeled ginger (20g), sliced thinly
  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) Shaoxing wine 
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) water
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) light soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup (80ml) dark soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons (30g) granulated sugar
  • For the Clay Pot Rice:
  • 1 cup jasmine rice or an equal-parts mix of jasmine and short-grain (such as koshihikari) rice (7 ounces; 200g), see notes
  • 1 cup (240ml) hot water
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) lard, schmaltz, or neutral oil
  • For the Meatloaf and to Serve:
  • 1/2 pound (227g) boneless, skinless pork shoulder, chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) finely minced ginger 
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) light soy sauce 
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) oyster sauce 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (8ml) Shaoxing wine 
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) toasted sesame oil 
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 large egg white 
  • 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar 
  • 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use a pinch
  • 1 raw salted duck egg (optional; see note)1 scallion, root end trimmed, white and green parts thinly sliced, for garnishing

Directions

  1. For the Seasoned Soy Sauce: In a small saucepan set over medium heat, melt the lard until liquid, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low and add scallions, shallots, cilantro, garlic, and ginger. Gently sauté, swirling the pan occasionally, until the aromatics are fragrant and begin to turn golden brown. Deglaze the pan with the Shaoxing wine, then add water, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and allow to bubble for 2 minutes. Strain, chill, and set aside; the sauce should be dark, smooth, and slightly thicker than bottled soy sauce.

    Seasoned soy sauce being made in a saucepan.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  2. In a large bowl, combine short-grain and jasmine rice and cover by 2 inches with cool water. Using your hands, vigorously swish rice until water turns cloudy, about 30 seconds. Using a fine-mesh strainer, drain the rice, discarding the cloudy soaking water. (Rinsing the grains just once retains more of the starch and flavors of the rice.) Cover rice with at least double the amount of water and soak for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours. When the rice has finished soaking, drain it well through a fine-mesh sieve. (To check if the rice has thoroughly soaked, break a grain in half. There shouldn’t be a visible hard, white center.)

    Rice being rinsed in a bowl.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  3. Meanwhile, for the Meatloaf: Dice the pork shoulder into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aside a third of the diced pork. Chop the pork, pushing the mixture around until the pork is as fine as conventionally ground pork. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.

    Pork being diced on a cutting board and pork in a stainless steel bowl.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  4. In a small bowl, mix together ginger, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, starch, egg white, salt, and sugar, stirring well with a silicone spatula until well-combined.

    Ground pork with ginger, cornstarch, and other aromatics in a stainless steel bowl.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  5. Gradually pour the seasoning liquid into the meat mixture. Vigorously stir the meat in one direction to incorporate the liquid. As the meat is being mixed, you will notice that white strands of protein that looks like fine tendons will get longer and longer. Once these strands reach 2 inches in length, begin slapping the meat loaf. Using clean hands, ball up the mixture into one mass and then slap it back into the bowl. Continue to slap the meat until the final mixture holds together and begins to feel bouncy, about 2 minutes.

    Close up of pork for Chinese meatloaf.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  6. To Cook the Clay Pot Rice: set the clay pot over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the rice to the pot and top with just enough water to barely cover. Bring the rice and water to a boil, with the lid off, stirring occasionally. When the rice and water begin to bubble, give the rice a final stir to get rid of any clumps, and allow the rice to cook until water is no longer visible above the rice, about 2 minutes.

    Four different stages of rice being cooked in a Cantonese clay pot.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  7. Reduce heat to low. Using a pair of chopsticks, ventilate the rice by poking a few shallow holes on the surface of the rice. Shape the meat loaf into a 5-inch wide disc and lay it on top of the rice, and using a spoon, make a small indent in the center of the meatloaf and crack in the salted duck egg, if using.

    Raw Chinese meatloaf on top of rice in a Cantonese clay pot.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  8. Cover clay pot with lid and allow rice and meatloaf to cook on low heat until the rice begins to crackle, about 10 minutes. (Do not open the lid. Listening carefully, you should hear a consistent sizzling crackle; loud, inconsistent pops mean that the heat is too high.)

    A Cantonese clay pot.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  9. Drizzle lard, schmaltz, or oil on the rim of the lid and allow it to trickle down into the rice. With the lid still on, angle the clay pot so that a quarter of the bottom of the pot is toasting directly over the flame. Rotate the clay pot every minute, so that another quarter of the pot is being toasted. Repeat this process for another 13 minutes. Be careful not to burn the rice; if the vapor escaping the pot becomes a single, slow wisp or you begin to smell smoke, reduce heat to low. The rice is done when it stops sizzling and the steam slows. Remove clay pot from heat and rest for 2 minutes. Check that the meatloaf is fully cooked by poking a chopstick in the center of the meatloaf. The juices that run out should be clear and not pink.

    Cantonese clay pot tilted over the flame of a gas stove.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

  10. To Serve: Remove the lid and drizzle with the desired amount of seasoned soy sauce, stirring to mix well. Serve in the clay pot itself, dividing portions up into smaller individual bowls. Once most of the rice has been served, use a metal spoon to scrape up the crispy rice on the bottom, optionally crumbling it into the fluffier rice mixture.

    Chinese meatloaf on top of Cantonese clay pot rice.

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Special Equipment

Cantonese clay pot (about 1 quart in capacity and 18cm in diameter), gas stove

Notes

Using both jasmine and a short- or medium-grain variety produces rice that’s both fluffy and chewy, a texture I particularly enjoy. However, you’re more than welcome to use just one kind of rice instead of a blend.

The salted duck egg used here should be raw. Salted duck eggs are available to purchase in most Asian grocery stores, but if you can only find cooked duck eggs, I suggest crumbling it into the meatloaf instead of placing it on top, as this will flavor the meatloaf throughout.

Make-Ahead and Storage

The seasoned soy sauce can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

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