Claypot Chicken Rice (Piece of cake!)

Alright, it can't get any easier with this recipe. I first tried this when I was studying at the University of Manchester. As a student, you try to save as much money as you can, so food was normally rationed among the few of us who shared meals. And the ingredients to this dish is dirt cheap in UK. This dish is so easy to prepare, and so delicious, you'd always be ready to eat this. And it's got all the nutrition you need in a pot: mainly white meat, a bit of red meat, vegetables and carbohydrates. The aroma of all the ingredients are infused and locked in one big rice cooker....oh it's making my saliva come out just thinking about it! And no, you don't need to get a claypot, it tastes just the same with a rice cooker. I used to make it in bulk, then save it for a few days in the fridge, or freezer (depending on how long I thought I'd save it!). So here goes the legendary claypot chicken rice----made easy!

Equipment:

1. Rice cooker at least 1.8L (preferably non-stick ones)
2. Chopping board
3. Chopper or a knife able to cut meat
4. A big bowl or receptacle with a surface area big enough to soak your Chinese mushrooms
5. Chopsticks and bowls to serve your claypot chicken rice when done
   

Ingredients:

1. Chicken thighs and legs --- 4 parts or as much as you want, you can always substitute for chicken breast meat if you're health conscious
2. Chinese mushrooms --- 6 or as much as you want
   
3. Chinese sausages or lap cheong --- one
   
4. Xiao bai chai --- as much as you want
5. White long-grain or fragrant rice --- 1 cup (again, you can substitute with brown rice if you're health conscious)
6. Ginger --- 1 big piece
7. Garlic --- 6 cloves or more if you like
8. Oyster sauce --- 3 tablespoons
   
9. Dark soy sauce --- 1 tablespoon
   
10. Sugar --- 1 teaspoon or honey --- 1 tablespoon
    

Method:
Soak your Chinese mushrooms in a bowl or whatever you're using. It takes a good 2 hours if you use cold water, but only about 20 minutes if you use hot water. While waiting for the mushrooms, slice the lap cheong and cut up the chicken parts into smaller pieces. Once the mushrooms are done, you can either slice them or cook them whole. I don't generally cut up the ginger if I'm using it to cook the rice, so it's easier to remove when the food is done. The same goes for the garlic.

Then, simply dump all the ingredients (except the vegetables at this point) into your rice cooker and cook as you would your normal rice. Add the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar or honey once the food is cooked and the rice cooker indicates that it's on the warm mode. Then pop the vegetables on top of the rice and let it steam for about 10 minutes under the warm mode of the cooker.

Result: Absolutely delicious claypot chicken rice --- made without claypot, ha!