Claypot Chicken with Rice

In continuation of my Chinese/Southeast Asian food week, today I am making Claypot Chicken with Rice. The dish normally is serve during winter time because the Claypot can keep the food warm during the meal and the Chinese Sausage has a little more fat so it will keep you warm during winter. I cheated making this dish with a rice cooker instead of a claypot because its easy! But I wrote this recipe for you to use on a stove top.


Ingredients
*1 pound chicken meat, deboned and sliced into 2-inch pieces
*1 tablespoon cornstarch
*3 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
*3 teaspoons sesame oil
*A pinch of salt
*2 tablespoons vegetable oil
*3 cloves of garlic, minced
*A 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
*1/2 cup dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated in hot water and sliced
*3 pieces of dried Chinese sausage (Lap Cheong), sliced
*2 cups white rice, rinsed in cold water until the water runs clear and drained
*2 teaspoons light soy sauce
*2 teaspoons sesame oil
*¾ cup of water, at room temperature
*1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
*1 teaspoon sesame oil

Direction
1) Whisk the cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil and salt in a bowl, then pour it over the chicken pieces, mixing well to coat. Set aside for 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2) Heat the oil in a wok or a deep frying pan, then add the garlic and ginger, frying until fragrant. Add the marinated chicken and stir. When the meat starts to brown, add the mushrooms and chinese sausage, stirring for a minute to mix well.
3) Add the rice to the wok and turn the heat to high, mixing as you go to allow the rice to fully absorb the flavor of the other ingredients. Add the light soy sauce and sesame oil to the wok and keep stirring and mixing for another 2 minutes.
5) Turn off the heat and transfer the contents of the wok to the saucepot or claypot. Add the water, then cover and increase the heat to medium.
6) Leave the ingredients to cook for about an hour, checking-in every 15 minutes and giving the rice a stir or two.
8) When the rice is done, drizzle the dark soy sauce and sesame oil over the rice.