Making clay pot rice is relatively easy, except for that all-important part of getting a nice even crust on the rice grains at the base and sides of the pot. That’s the best part of clay pot rice, but also the most difficult. It requires experience and a fine balance of water-to-rice ratio, and knowing exactly how much of a crust your rice has developed at the bottom of the pot without being able to see it. The tray’s wider surface yields more crispy grains than a clay pot. Plus, you can’t use leftover rice to make traditional clay pot rice, which is always done from scratch and takes a longer time to cook. This tray bake works just fine with leftover grains — we don't know about you, but a tasty meal ASAP is always welcome during this stressful Circuit Breaker period.

We used leftover rice (waste not, want not, especially when everyone is limiting their supermarket runs these days) — but make a fresh batch if you prefer. Unlike fried rice, using fresh rice won’t affect the results of this dish. Like in a clay pot, the chicken cooking above the rice flavours the grains as it cooks and renders a nice amount of fat that helps “fry” the grains a little. The lap cheong also renders its own fat while it cooks in the dry heat of the oven. And fat, as the happy trope goes, is flavour! The wide surface area of a baking tray yields more crusty grains than a clay pot would, which in our books, is a bonus.

Think of this recipe as a guide. Feel free to add more lap cheong, some soaked and sliced shiitake mushrooms, or some chopped salted fish. Use other parts of the chicken instead of wings, or use cooked Japanese or brown rice if you prefer. If you’re out of Shaoxing wine for the chicken wing marinade, just leave it out. And if all you have is regular dark soy sauce, use that instead of thick dark soy. The possibilities are many, and since staying home is imperative at the moment, you have all the time in the world to give the variations a whirl.

Serves 2-4 pax

Ingredients:

Chicken wing marinade:

2 tbsp cooking oil

3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

2 thin slices ginger

1 tsp sugar

4-6 chicken wings, cut at the mid-joints

1 tbsp + 1 tsp cooking oil

3-4 cups cooked white rice

2-3 lap cheong, sliced 1.5-cm thick

2-3 liver lap cheong, sliced 1.5-cm thick

a handful of chye sim or kai lan, sliced to about 1-cm pieces

Sauce:

2 tbsp thick dark soy sauce

2 tbsp water

1 tsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp sesame oil

Sliced red chillies for garnishing, optional

1. Start by marinating the chicken wings. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Add the chicken wings to the bowl and rub the marinade into the wings. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 180°C. Rub the base of a large tray with a tablespoon of cooking oil. This will help the rice develop a crust at the bottom of the tray. (We used a tray that’s about 26cm by 20cm; one that’s a little larger is fine too).

3. Place the cooked rice in the tray. Add the lap cheong and liver lap cheong and stir to mix so that the pieces are evenly distributed throughout the rice.

4. Remove the chicken wings from the marinade and arrange on top of the rice.

5. Bake in the oven for 15 mins or until the chicken is just cooked.

6. Meanwhile, place the chye sim or kai lan in a bowl. Pour remaining 1 tsp of oil into the bowl and rub the oil into the vegetables (this helps the veg to remain plump and prevent them from drying out in the oven).

7. When the chicken is cooked, add the veg to the tray, distributing them evenly across the surface. Bake for another 8 mins.

8. Make the sauce by placing all its ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Set aside.

9. Remove tray from the oven and let it sit on a rack for 5 mins. Serve rice in individual bowls. Garnish with sliced red chillies (optional) and drizzle the sauce over. Serve.

Alvin Teo