ASIAN CLAY POT COOKING RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan with a lid over medium heat. Cook and stir the bacon pieces until lightly browned and the oil has a bacon flavor, about 1 minute. Remove the bacon from the pan, turn the heat to high, stir in the garlic, and cook until the garlic cloves are beginning to turn golden brown, about 1 more minute. Add the chicken pieces, stirring to seal the surfaces of the meat. Turn the heat down, and cook until golden brown on the outside but still pink on the inside, about 3 minutes.
• Return the bacon pieces to the pan, and stir in the dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and rice, and mix everything together until well-combined. Pour in the water (should not reach to the top of the rice mixture), cover the pan, and turn the heat to low. Simmer until the rice is cooked and grains of roasted rice are stuck on the bottom of the pan, about 30 minutes. Serve each portion topped with some of the browned rice kernels scraped from the bottom.

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, cook 2 tablespoons of the sugar over moderate heat until bubbling and beginning to brown around the edges, 4 minutes. Gradually stir in 1/3 cup of the hot water and simmer for 3 minutes to dissolve the caramel. Remove from the heat.
• Heat the oil in a medium Chinese clay pot or in a casserole. Add the chiles, garlic and half of the ginger and stir-fry over moderate heat until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the chicken, fish sauce, salt and the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar and stir until the chicken turns white, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion wedges, the remaining 1/4 cup of hot water and the caramel sauce and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Add the scallions and cook for 3 minutes longer. Stir in the remaining ginger and remove the pot from the heat. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.