Clay Pot Rice with Chinese Sausages 臘味煲仔飯

I know we are blessed to live in Los Angeles, especially during the wintertime. Winter in Southern California is mild compared to the rest of the country. The normal daytime highs are in the 60's and nighttime lows are around the 40's. Although we don't usually get below freezing temperatures, it is still considered to be cold by many of us.

During chilly days like these, our stomach yearns for something warm to eat. Nothing is better than a pot of warm rice with Chinese sausage. The aroma from the sausage is very appetizing. I especially like to have the crispy rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot. There is nothing better compared to that. We have cut down the consumption of rice in recent years, but when we have rice in clay pot for dinner, it's usually emptied in no time.

There are some tricks to making this clay pot rice. First, you have to get a clay pot.

Do not substitute it with an electric rice cooker. It is not comparable. Second, get a heat diffuser. If you want to have crunchy rice on the bottom, it is indispensible. It helps to distribute the heat evenly for making the rice crispy on the bottom. The conductivity of clay is not as good as aluminum or stainless steel cookwares. I used to have burnt rice without the heat diffuser.

Other than that, the rest is not that difficult. Unlike baking, there is a lot of room for individual preferences, like how much soy sauce to drizzle on the rice, how many sausages to use, etc. Therefore, I do not intend to put up a detailed recipe here. Feel free to cook as many cups of rice as you like (as long as the pot can hold it) and to put the same amount of water as you normally use.


1)  Wash rice and use an appropriate amount of water.
2)  Heat the clay pot on top of a heat diffuser and put about a tablespoon of oil in it.

3)  Add the rice and the measured amount of water.

4)  Cover and use high heat until it boils. Then lower the heat to high-medium.
5)  Put the sausages on top of the rice as soon as the rice absorbs the water. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes.

6)  Turn up the heat for another 5-10 minutes or until you hear a sizzling sound (it means the rice on the bottom is turning crunchy).
7)  Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 more minutes before serving.

Notes:
1) Heat diffusers can be found in stores providing kitchenware. I got mine from Bed Bath and Beyond for under $4.
2) Having control of the heat in making this clay pot is important. Different stoves have varying amounts of heat output. Adjust your stove accordingly.

臘味煲仔飯

南加州的天氣四季溫和,十分宜人,冬天的氣溫平均是華氏四十至六十度之間,所以很多住在較寒冷地方的人都會來過冬避雪。話雖如此,對於本地人,氣溫也是有點冷。

天氣冷的日子,一家人圍着打邊爐是最好不過,但除了打邊爐食火煱外,煲仔飯也是我家冬天的至愛。香噴噴的臘味,加上脆脆的飯焦,我們這對『無飯夫婦』也要食上幾碗!

對於我們這個只用自動電飯煲做飯的一代,要用瓦煲做飯實在是有一點難度。我還記得初初做煲仔飯的時候,不是放水太多變成粥,便是火太大煲燶飯。

直至最近才掌握到一些技巧可以與大家分享。要做一煲好的煲仔飯,一塊散熱器(heat diffuser)是少不了的,因瓦煲與其他用不鏽鋼或鋁做的煱不同,傳熱功能差,如直接放在爐上,效果不會好,但有散熱器便能平均地將熱力傳到瓦煲內,可以輕易地做到脆脆的飯焦了。

除此之外,其他便隨各人口味調教,如米與水的份量,醬油的多少等等。

1)  首先將適量米洗淨。
2)  將瓦煲放在散熱器上,用大火燒熱,放約一湯匙油。
3)  下米及適量水份,上蓋,水滾後收細一點火。
4)  水收乾後便將臘味放在飯面,上蓋煲約十分鐘。
5)  將火轉大再煲約五分鐘,或至煲內有"吱吱"聲。
6)  熄火待五分鐘便可食用。

注意事項:
1) 散熱器可在售賣廚具地方買到。
2) 火候的控制十分重要,但不同的爐頭火力不同,以上的提示只供參考,各位請按各自爐頭調教火力。