This Sandpot Stir-Fried Chicken Rice is a traditional Cantonese dish. Rice is cooked in a sandpot, while chicken, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms are stir-fried in a wok. Before the rice is fully cooked, the stir-fry mixture is placed on top of the rice to finish cooking.
As Grace Young says, this "exemplifies the fuel efficiency of Chinese cuisine." The hot rice continues to cook the chicken, and the juices in the chicken flavor the rice.
This recipe, on page 252 of the book, Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge, also includes a sprinkling of scallions and prosciutto on top.
The chicken is briefly marinaded in ginger, egg white, rice wine, regular and dark soy sauce, cornstarch, salt, pepper, and a bit of peanut oil. The rice is cooked in chicken broth. This made me smile, because my mother always cooked rice in chicken broth, as do I.
While the rice is cooking, you stir-fry the chicken, mushroom, and ginger mixture, and then toss in scallions. Pour the chicken mixture over the rice, add the prosciutto, and quickly re-cover the pot to continue cooking. This really tested my multi-tasking skills, but I survived just fine.
A sandpot is a traditional Chinese casserole dish that can be used on the stovetop, but very carefully. You have to start with very low heat and let the pan heat slowly. They are easy to find in Asian markets, at least here in California.
Even though I'm game for adding new cookware to my kitchen, I decided to skip the sandpot and use this 2 1/2 quart Emile Henry Flame pot. It offers the convenience of a saucepan (the book gives instructions for both a saucepan and a sandpot), with the ability to keep the food hot for a long time (plus, I already had one and needed a reason to use it!). I was super happy with the results using this pan.
If you'd like to learn more about sandpots and their traditional use in the Chinese kitchen, check out this beautifully written post from Grace Young. I've agreed not to post the exact recipe, so to get it, check out page 252 of Stir Frying to the Sky's Edge.
Did I mention how much we loved this rice? We had it for dinner with a salad, and enjoyed the leftovers for a couple of days. Super easy, and totally delicious.
Beautiful as always, Karen! I too cook my rice with broth - so much better that way. This was a tasty one!
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