Gung Hay Fat Choy! : Chinese 'No Clay Pot' Chicken Casserole

Yesterday kicked off the first day (of fifteen) for the Chinese New Year. To celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, I thought it would be fun to cook Mr. S. a Chinese inspired dish for dinner last night...I decided to go with this Chinese 'No Clay Pot'  Chicken with Soy and Ginger, which had just won the Best Healthy Casseroles Contest recently on Apartment Therapy. It's a simple dish but quite hearty and aromatic The kitchen smelled so delish during the preparation that Mr. S. kept wandering in, wanting to "help." I did tinker with the recipe a tiny bit so if you want the original version, you can find it here: The Kitchn. Anyhow the end result was a flavorful, versatile rice dish that can be eaten alone or used as a main dish (pair it with some yummy veggies like sauteed gai-lan) or as a side dish (would work well with some roasted duck).

Chinese No 'Clay Pot' Chicken Casserole

serves 6

Ingredients

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon shiro miso paste

2 boneless chicken breasts, about 1 pound, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 scallions, roughly chopped, plus extra to serve

3 garlic cloves, minced

1-inch piece fresh ginger, roughly grated

2 ounces good Italian salami, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

10 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced

1 tablespoon canola or peanut oil

2 cups Chinese long grain rice (* I would not try and sub in a different type of rice as it could get mushy)

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups vegetable stock


Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a medium bowl.

3. Stir in the chicken, scallions, garlic, ginger and miso paste and toss so that they are coated thoroughly with the liquid.

4. Place this mixture in the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 15 minutes while you cook the mushrooms.

5. Place an oven-safe pan, like a 3-quart Dutch oven, over medium high heat on the stove.

6. When it is hot, add the sausage and turn the heat down to medium-low.

7. Let the sausage slowly release its fat. When the bottom of the pot is slick with the sausage fat, add the mushrooms.

8. Turn the heat back up to medium high heat and let the mushrooms cook, without stirring them, for 5 minutes. Flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes.

9. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pot, and sauté the rice briefly to develop some toasty flavor (you don?t want to brown the rice here, just sauté it for 1 minute or so), then add the salt and the chicken mixture from the fridge.

10. Pour in the stock. Bring to a boil.

11. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid or with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Make sure to taste the rice for doneness before taking it out of the oven. Let stand 5 minutes, covered, before serving.

12. Stir up the rice before serving, as the chicken and mushrooms will have risen to the top during baking (see photo below). Stir thoroughly so that they are incorporated throughout the rice.