This Clay Pot Rice is slathered in a delicious homemade Chinese Sweet Soy Sauce. Everything is super-easy to make, the Chinese Pork Belly and Chinese Sausage cook in the same pot as the rice, so delicious!
Why This Clay Pot Rice Is So Good
- Easy to make – can cook in rice cooker or on the stovetop.
- Filling and delicious – the rice absorbs so much flavor.
- Covered in a delicious sweet soy sauce.
- Perfectly crispy rice.
Ingredients
For The Sweet Soy Sauce
- Cooking oil
- Shallots
- Ginger
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Rice wine
- Sesame oil
For The Clay Pot Rice
- Chinese sausage
- Cured pork belly
- Long grain raw rice
How To Make Chines Clay Pot Rice – Step By Step
1. Make the Sweet Soy Sauce:
Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat with cooking oil. When hot, add in the shallot and the ginger and fry until browned but not burnt, approximately 3-5 minutes. The shallots should be shriveled, darker brown (just not black). Remove the shallots and ginger (as much as you can). The remaining oil will now be flavorful. Don’t throw away the crispy shallots! Use this as a topping for salad, fried rice, vegetables, etc. The ginger can be discarded.
To the oil, add in the sugar, soy sauce and rice wine. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat to low. Let simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and pour in the sesame oil. Let cool completely before storing in a jar. Lasts up to 4 months in refrigerator.
2. Make the Clay Pot Rice
IF COOKING IN RICE COOKER
Place the rice in the rice cooker pot. Fill pot halfway with water and use your hands to swish the rice. Carefully pour out the water. Repeat 2-3 more times until the water is just barely cloudy. Pour in water until it reaches your knuckle. Use this Chinese method to measure water.
Lay in the Chinese sausage and pork belly strips. Set rice cooker to cook. When cooking complete, remove pork belly and Chinese sausage and slice thinly on the diagonal. Serve with rice Sweet Soy Sauce drizzled on top.
IF COOKING ON STOVETOP
To the pot (preferably clay, cast iron, enameled cast iron or some kind of heavy-bottomed pot), add in the pork belly and Chinese sausage. Turn the heat to medium-high. As the pot heats up, the pork and sausage will slowly begin to release its fats (yum!). Cook for 2 minutes, then flip the pork and sausage and cook the other side. Remove the pork and sausage to a plate.
You should have about a tablespoon of delicious fat in your pot! Add in your raw rice to the pot (still on medium-high heat) gently stir the raw rice in the fat for 30 seconds until coated. Pour in 3 cups of water and snuggle in the pork belly and sausage in the rice. Bring to a low boil. Turn heat to low and immediately cover. Cook for 12 minutes. When done cooking, pork belly and Chinese sausage and slice thinly on the diagonal. Serve with rice and Sweet Soy Sauce drizzled on top
What Is Clay Pot Rice?
Claypot rice (Chinese: 煲仔飯; pinyin: bāo zǐ fàn), sometimes translated as rice casserole, is a traditional dinner dish in Southern China and Southeast Asia, mainly Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. The rice is presoaked, or in some cases par-cooked, and finished in the claypot with other ingredients which then flavor the rice. The rice develops a crust similar to that in Korean dolsot bibimbap or Spanish paella. It is commonly served with chicken, Chinese sausage and vegetables in some regions, but most restaurants offer a customizable dish with many protein options.
Traditionally, the cooking is done over a charcoal stove, giving the dish a distinctive flavour. Some places serve it with thick, sweetened soy sauce and sometimes dried salted fish. Due to the time-consuming method of preparation and slow-cooking in a claypot, customers might have to wait a period of time (typically 15–30 minutes) before the dish is ready.
But this Clay Pot Rice recipe is quicker and easier!
No Clay Pot Needed!
Normally, a clay pot is used (duh! hence the name) but since I didn’t have a clay pot (broke mine during the move) – we decided to experiment with making Chinese Clay Pot Rice in the rice cooker (shortcut cheater method) and also on the stovetop in a heavy-bottomed pot (like cast iron or Le Creuset). This type of pot will ensure that the rice cooks evenly and does not burn.
There’s a a fine line between “crispy” and “burnt” rice! If you’re using a clay pot or a pot on a stove, you can get a really nice bottom crust (the best part!) that all the kids fight over.
Protein In This Clay Pot Rice Recipe
The Chinese Cured Pork Belly or “Chinese Style Cured Pork Strips” by Kam Yen Jan is what we used. It’s actually a preserved and cured ingredient (kind of like Chinese version of smoked bacon!) so just like the Chinese sausage, it keeps for several months in the refrigerator (as long as you don’t open the package).
They are both found at Asian markets.
Top Tips For This Clay Pot Rice Recipe
- Slice your meats evenly and similar sizes, for even cooking.
- You can use a rice cooker or a stove pot.
- Don’t throw away the crispy shallots! Use this as a topping for salad, fried rice, vegetables, etc.
- Any extra sweet soy sauce can be stored in a jar in the fridge for up to 4 months.
Chinese Clay Pot Rice with Sweet Soy Sauce Recipe Video
Check Out These Other Delicious Chinese Recipes
- Chinese Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs Recipe
- Chinese Eggplant Recipe with Spicy Garlic Sauce
- My Mother’s Famous Chinese Egg Rolls Recipe
- Chinese Bird’s Nest Soup Recipe
Have you tried this Clay Pot Rice recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Chinese Clay Pot Rice Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE SWEET SOY SAUCE
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 shallots thinly sliced
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup Chinese cooking rice wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
FOR THE CLAY POT RICE
- 1 package Chinese sausage
- 1 package Chinese cured pork belly
- 2 cups long-grain raw rice I like jasmine rice
Instructions
Make the Sweet Soy Sauce:
- Heat a small sauce pot over medium heat with cooking oil. When hot, add in the shallot and the ginger and fry until browned but not burnt, approximately 3-5 minutes. The shallots should be shriveled, darker brown (just not black). Remove the shallots and ginger (as much as you can).
- The remaining oil will now be flavorful. Don't throw away the crispy shallots! Use this as a topping for salad, fried rice, vegetables, etc. The ginger can be discarded.
- To the oil, add in the sugar, soy sauce and rice wine. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat to low. Let simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and pour in the sesame oil. Let cool completely before storing in a jar. Lasts up to 4 months in refrigerator.
Make the Clay Pot Rice
- IF COOKING IN RICE COOKER
- Place the rice in the rice cooker pot. Fill pot halfway with water and use your hands to swish the rice. Carefully pour out the water. Repeat 2-3 more times until the water is just barely cloudy. Pour in water until it reaches your knuckle. Use this Chinese method to measure water.
- Lay in the Chinese sausage and pork belly strips. Set rice cooker to cook. When cooking complete, remove pork belly and Chinese sausage and slice thinly on the diagonal. Serve with rice Sweet Soy Sauce drizzled on top.
- IF COOKING ON STOVETOP
- To the pot (preferably clay, cast iron, enameled cast iron or some kind of heavy-bottomed pot), add in the pork belly and Chinese sausage. Turn the heat to medium-high. As the pot heats up, the pork and sausage will slowly begin to release its fats (yum!). Cook for 2 minutes, then flip the pork and sausage and cook the other side.
- Remove the pork and sausage to a plate. You should have about a tablespoon of delicious fat in your pot! Add in your raw rice to the pot (still on medium-high heat) gently stir the raw rice in the fat for 30 seconds until coated.
- Pour in 3 cups of water and snuggle in the pork belly and sausage in the rice. Bring to a low boil. Turn heat to low and immediately cover. Cook for 12 minutes. When done cooking, pork belly and Chinese sausage and slice thinly on the diagonal. Serve with rice and Sweet Soy Sauce drizzled on top.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
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Made this to celebrate Lunar New Year tonight. Amazing recipe! It is a keeper. Very happy to find a new use for the dutch oven!! Next time, I may cook an extra 5 min to get the crispy burnt rice that hubby loves. Thank you for sharing.
nice website. the formal article is very useful. thanx for sharing us such as good article.
Awsome post, and realy appreciate your good job, Thanx alot.
Thanks keep updating and sharing with us.Great Forum and Great.
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Have you use the cure pork to braise with smoked tafu ?
My question is can the cure pork be use for braising?
Thanks
Hi Susan! You can certainly use the cured pork in a braise. Cut into cubes and add to your braise.
this looks wonderful, love the Chinese pork belly and sausage, have never made these myself so thank you for sharing this!
Sooo… I accidentally ate one of these sausages BEFORE cooking it. What’s the likelihood I will get sick?
Nothing. They are fully cooked.
You can find the sausage at the SF Supermarket (Shun Fat) on Spring Mtn Rd and Decatur (where Lucky’s used to be). Go up the refrigerator aisle, and the sausages are against the back wall.
I tried this recipe today. Perfect from the rice to the sweet soya sauce. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Sharon!
Is there a mention of how much rice to put? Also a package of Chinese sausage has like 8 links in it…. Waaaaaaaaay too much for one meal. 2 sausages MAX!
Looking really yummy.. I never had this type of food before love to taste this delicious food.
Delicious! I prepared it in my pure clay pot and turned out exceptional good. I always use my pure clay pot for cooking almost any recipes. It cooks the food evenly and blends all the flavors and tastes soo good. I got mine from mecware.us (online). I would say the best website that teaches the art of clay cooking
Hi Jaden,
May I know what brand and grade Soy Sauce u used? I followed your recipe for the sweet sauce and it was too salty. So I tried again and this time, I used a gourmet superior soy sauce and tweaked to 1/2 cup. Even then, the sauce was too salty and I had to adjust it with more brown sugar.
I used Kikkoman low sodium
I,ve never tasted a Chinese clay pot rice before, but the pictures looks tasty and i really wish i can cook this meal myself, well the next time i visit a chinese restaurant i know what to ask for. Thanks
Just tried this in rice cooker and loved it. I used jasmine rice too but wonder how it would be with short grain too. Will try it next time and post here.
I used whole package of pork strips but just 3 or 4 sausages because it seemed like a lot.
Enjoyed the sauce drizzled over it too.
Thanks for sharing.
Such a great post! Love what you created, looks delicious and I’m going to try it! Here is my latest food related post if you wanna take a look 🙂
http://elmarama.blogspot.com/2014/05/strip-steak-with-roasted-potato-medley.html
I burn rice too many times! Think I need a clay pot!
This is one awesome recipe!
Wow, that’s a lot of preserved meat for 2 cups of rice! The whole packages of both? I mean, I love lap yuk and lap cheong as much as the average Cantonese omnivore, but that really seems like a skewed ratio of meat to rice, even with veggies on the side.
Yum! I love claypot rice but I also don’t have a claypot. I’ve made a version in the rice cooker but I miss that smoky flavour from the clay pot. I keep my (opened or closed packages of) lap cheong and cured pork belly in the freezer and just take out whatever I need – I’ve had lots of luck with storing it that way for many, many months. Thanks for the instructions on cooking it in a pot to get those crispy rice bits! Does your mom ever do a Cantonese-style version with chicken and black mushrooms? That would be an awesome future post 🙂
This was how I learned to cook rice when I was a little girl, pre-rice cookers. I can just smell the aroma from the entire combination you described. I’d love to recreate this at home. Any suggestions for good brands of cured pork belly and where to find it? Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jaden . Enjoy your mom’s visit!
Jaden,
Question: as you mention that your parents live in Vegas, and your mom mailed you the hard to find ingredients, and I live in Vegas, where did your mom buy the preserved pork belly? I looked a couple of days ago at 99 Ranch in Chinatown and the Philippino fish market near UNLV, and while both stores carry a variety of Chinese sausages, neither have the pork belly. I did find cured and smoked ham, Chinese style. Can you recommend the store your mom buys these products at? There is at least one other international market I know of at Tropicana and Decatur. Can you help?
Thanks Jaden, this was one I was dying for. Glad you and the family are getting to spend time with PoPo
My Korean housekeeper tried to teach me to cook those dishes I loved, and she always used the swish, rinse, water to the knuckle method. But I never knew exactly WHICH knuckle she meant. Never got it right, myself. So, which knuckle do YOU use?
You measure up to the first knuckle on the index finger. So wash your rice, stick your index finger in the water, just touch the rice. The water should reach the first knuckle, otherwise it’s one inch depth of water to whatever amount of rice you use.
My mum taught me the knuckle method and it worked with her rice cooker but now my rice cooker is bigger and my hand has also grown bigger. Will it still work?? Lol! I am totally reliant on the markings inside my rice cooker now.
Hi Kerry! Yes, it will still work 🙂
Awesome recipe. Just curious, isn’t short grain or glutinous rice usually preferred for this dish?