An immaculate gluten free one-pot baked Chinese dish with both meat and protein packed shiitake mushrooms. My inspiration for this dish came from the traditional claypot chicken rice, normally a dinner dish in southern China, Malaysia and Singapore. It is usually served with Chinese sausages (lap cheong) and steamed vegetables like choy sum. As Chinese sausages are not gluten free, I have substituted this with gluten free leg ham in my recipe. This recipe is also dairy free, egg free, nut free.
Shiitake Mushroom is deemed to be a gourmet delicacy around the world for its intense flavour. It has also long been acclaimed as an Asian superfood due to its medicinal properties, widely used in ancient Chinese medicine as a naturally healing food. It comprises extensive amount of long chain sugars, called polysaccharides, which is rich in nutrients. It is not only iron rich but contains vitamins A, B, C and D group of vitamins. Researched medicinal benefits include cholesterol lowering, strengthening the immune system, preventing cancer and heart disease, improving circulation and preventing thrombosis, treating fatigue and viral infections.
Chicken and Shiitake Mushrooms rice
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 kg 2.2Ib/35.3oz skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 100 g 3.53oz dried shiitake mushrooms, soak in hot water for 20 mins. Stems removed and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups basmati rice
- 1 canned gluten free leg ham 340g thinly sliced
- ½ cup water
For the sauce:
- 2 tablespoons of gluten free light soy sauce
- 6 tablespoons of gluten free kecap manis thick soy sauce (refer relevant recipe)
- 2 tablespoons of pale or medium dry sherry
- 1 tablespoon pure sesame oil
For the Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon of gluten free light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of pale or medium dry sherry
- 1 ½ teaspoons gluten free corn maize starch
- 1 teaspoon of ground white pepper
For the garnish:
- 2 large fresh red chillies finely chopped
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
Instructions
- Wash the rice and cook in an electric rice cooker by adding number of cups of water specified by the electric cooker. Rice should be cooked to light and fluffy.
- Pre-heat fan force oven to 160C or 320F. Grill the leg ham pieces in the oven for around 20 minutes or until brown and crispy on both sides. Cut into 2 cm pieces.
- Combine chicken with marinade in a large bowl and mix well. Reserve for about 20 minutes.
- Prepare and mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Heat up a large pot that is oven friendly. Add 8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and stir-fry the garlic on low heat until lightly golden.
- Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for 3 minutes on medium to high heat. Then add the mushrooms, the sauce prepared, ½ cup of water and stir-fry until chicken is cooked. Turn off the heat.
- Add the steamed rice in step 1 and the leg ham pieces into the pot, toss and combine well and cover with lid.
- Pre-heat the fan force oven to 180C or 350F. Put the pot into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- To serve, place some of the chicken, shiitake mushrooms and leg ham at the bottom and side of a medium bowl, then add the rest of the rice and pack in tightly. Put a plate on the top of bowl, turn the bowl upside down and remove the bowl. Garnish with the chillies and spring onions and serve.
