A tradition, with a vegetable turn
The dish has Guangdong roots, a familiar place on Hong Kong’s Temple Street, and a home in Singapore’s hawker centres. The tradition is the starting point; this is Chris’s version. Mushrooms do the hearty work, asparagus, carrot and bamboo shoots bring texture, and bok choy gets the top spot.
The best bit is at the edges.
The trick is to treat each layer properly. Reduce the mushrooms’ excess moisture. Taste the sauce before thickening it. And measure the rice after rinsing and a brief drain: this recipe’s two cups are wet-rice cups.
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Raksha has mastered the hopeful stare. The pot still insists on its five-minute rest.
Ingredients
Serves 3–4.
Rice + base
• 2 level 240 ml cups wet jasmine rice
• 480 ml water, added once before soaking
• 15 g fresh ginger, thin rounds
Vegetables + oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thin half-rings
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 300 g fresh mushrooms of your choice, sliced
• 100 g asparagus, cut diagonally
• 100 g carrot, thin half-moons
• 100 g bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed
• 200 g bok choy; halve thick stems
• 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil for the wok (30 ml)
• Cooking oil, for pouring around the inner sides
Seasoned topping sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (15 ml)
• 2 tbsp VEGAN oyster sauce (30 ml)
• 150 ml water
• Light soy, sugar and white pepper: to taste
• Sesame oil: just a touch
Separate thickener
• 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
• 2 tsp cold water (10 ml)
Optional finish
• Thick sweet soya sauce (sweet kecap)
The wet-rice rule: rinse, drain briefly for 10–15 seconds, then loosely fill and level two 240 ml cups. Add the 480 ml water once. Keep that same water after soaking.
Method
1. Measure, then soak the rice
Use a 240 ml cup. Rinse the rice, drain off the water briefly for about 10-15 seconds, then loosely fill and level 2 cups of wet rice (480 ml). Add 2 cups of water (480 ml), soak for 20 minutes and retain that same water for cooking.
2. Cook the vegetable topping
While the rice soaks, heat the wok oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and garlic until softened and lightly golden. Add mushrooms and cook until softened and excess moisture reduces. Add asparagus, carrot and bamboo, in that order, and cook until the carrot is tender-crisp.
Onion and garlic go into the wok first.
Next come the mushrooms.
3. Season, taste, then thicken
Mix the 2 tsp cornflour with 2 tsp cold water in a small bowl until smooth. Add dark soy, vegan oyster sauce and 150 ml water. Add light soy, sugar and white pepper to taste, plus a touch of sesame oil. Taste with a clean spoon and balance before thickening. Re-stir the separate cornflour-water mixture and add it gradually LAST. Stir at a bubbling simmer for about 1 minute, until the sauce lightly coats the vegetables.
Build the vegetable topping.
4. Start the rice at the boil
Heat the rice with its retained soaking water gradually, following the pot maker's limits. Once clearly boiling, turn low for a gentle simmer with the lid ajar. Count 5-8 minutes FROM BOILING; look for most surface water to have absorbed. Keep the rice undisturbed.
5. Layer the topping
Lay ginger over the rice. Spread the hot cooked mushroom-vegetable topping evenly, then arrange the bok choy on top.
Spread the hot cooked topping over the rice.
Bok choy goes on last.
6. Cover and finish cooking
Fully cover and cook on low for another 7-8 minutes. Keep the lid on for the final oil step.
7. Add oil at the final stage, then rest
At the very end of cooking, keep the claypot on the stove with its lid on. Pour a little cooking oil into the gap at the lid rim so it runs down the INNER SIDES toward the rice. Leave the lid on. Then switch off the heat and rest covered for 5 minutes. This cooking oil is separate from the wok seasoning, sesame oil and the optional thick sweet soya sauce finish.
8. Check and serve
Open carefully, away from the steam. Check a centre grain is tender with no hard/chalky core, bok choy is cooked, and no excess liquid pools. Mix the layers and gently loosen the crisp edge. Optional: drizzle thick sweet soya sauce (sweet kecap) over the finished rice before serving.
Mix the layers and serve.
Timing guide: 20-minute soak · 5–8 minutes from boiling with lid ajar · 7–8 minutes covered on low · 5-minute covered rest. These are stage timings; the topping and the time to reach the boil vary.
Let the layers do their work.
Taste first. Thicken last.
Balance the topping sauce before adding the separately mixed cornflour and cold water. Add the thickener gradually; you want the sauce to lightly coat the vegetables.
Start the clock at the boil.
The first 5–8 minutes begin when the rice is clearly boiling. Lower the heat, keep the lid ajar and watch for most surface water to disappear.
Keep the oils and the finish distinct.
Wok oil cooks the topping. A touch of sesame oil seasons the sauce. The final cooking oil runs down the inner sides with the lid on. Optional thick sweet soya sauce (sweet kecap) comes after the rest.
A note on the story
Claypot rice is a tradition with many cooks and many versions. The background here draws on:
1. Chinese University of Hong Kong: “Steaming Claypot Rice” — Guangdong roots.
2. Hong Kong Tourism Board: local cuisine on Temple Street — Hong Kong’s claypot tradition.
3. Singapore Tourism Board: Chinatown Walking Guide, p. 15 — Claypot rice in the hawker setting.
Recipe by Chris Choo, from HOTPLATE.