Vegetarian claypot rice

 Vegetarian claypot rice 

Revisited one of my popular potluck dishes 'Claypot Chicken Rice' to try and see if a vegetarian version would do equal justice. Happy to report that chicken isn't missed at all in this dish - the rice is just a flavorful and aromatic, with the same nice caramelized crunchy bits around the edges and the shiitake mushrooms providing ample chewy bites!  

Ingredients:
2 cups long grain rice

1 sachet mushroom stock or vegetable stock powder
Dried shiitake mushrooms
Dried woodear fungus (optional)
1 knob ginger - grated finely
4-5 cloves garlic - minced finely
3-4 birds eye chilli - sliced thinly (or 1 tsp black pepper powder)
1/4 cup light soy sauce (taste the saltiness of the stock first and adjust accordingly)
1/4 cup vegetarian oyster sauce
1.5 tablespoons dark thick soy sauce

1.5 tablespoons shaoxing wine (or cider vinegar if you don't have it)

1 tablespoon sesame oil
Green spring onion for topping

Method:

1. Wash rice and drain. In a bowl, combine mushroom stock and 2 cups warm water; mix well. Add in rice and leave to soak for at least 1 hour. 

2. Soak dried mushrooms and woodear in 2 cups of hot water. Leave aside for an hour. 

3. In a bowl, mix well the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine, sesame oil and grated ginger. Leave aside. 

4. After the hour is up, retrieve the mushrooms/woodear, squeeze out liquid back into bowl and slice them up. Keep the soaking water. 

5. Heat a large claypot (I used a Korean ceramic coated pot and it works just as well) on stovetop.

6. Add in 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and throw in minced garlic & chillies. Saute till aromatic. 

7. Add in soy sauce mixture and mushrooms/woodear. Stirfry. 

8. Add in the rice and stock + 2 cups of mushroom water. Stir well. 

9. Cover pot with lid, reduce heat to medium and leave to cook for 15minutes without opening the lid. 

10. Once done, garnish with spring onions and serve.