GEORGE TOWN, Nov 16 — Fragrant and warming, claypot chicken rice is probably one of the few hawker foods that is cooked and eaten direct from the receptacle it is cooked in: individual-sized claypots.
The old-style cooking of chicken rice in claypots as opposed to simply cooking it in shiny new rice cookers has withstood the test of time.
The authentic smoky earthy flavours from boiling the rice, spices and chicken all within the claypot that can’t be replicated any other way could of course have something to do with it.
The best part about using claypots is that the porous earthernware absorbs the flavours of the spices and sauces used when cooking the dish over time, effectively “seasoning” it.
It’s similar to that urban legend of grimy, blackened, seasoned woks being the most valuable possession of all famous char koay teow street hawkers. The claypots of claypot chicken rice hawkers are almost equally important.
These “seasoned” earthernware are probably the “secret” behind the distinctive flavours that give each stall’s version of the claypot chicken rice its own unique “signature.”
A new claypot chicken rice stall using brand new claypots can be easily sniffed out because somehow, the resulting rice will not have the layers of flavours that come from seasoned, blackened claypots.
Many existing claypot chicken rice stalls in Penang have been around for a long time, some handed down from father to son, so it would be interesting to note that the claypots they used were probably handed down all grimy and blackened.
A single portion of claypot chicken rice is often served in the smallest sized claypot and it contains rice cooked with chunks of chicken, sliced mushrooms, Chinese sausages and smothered generously by a medley of spices and sauces.
This is then garnished with spring onions and the best part, they will break an egg right on top of the cooked concoction before removing the claypot from the fire, letting it slowly cook in the bubbling hot mixture.
The resulting flavours of plain, fluffy white rice cooked in the seasoned claypot along with spices and sauces are deep and smoky with slightly charred rice on the sides and bottom.
The sweetness of the Chinese sausages not only add a contrasting flavour to the savoury dish, but actually keeps it from being too overpowering.
The egg is the final ingredient to bring it all together, adding a slight creamy richness from its runny yolk especially when it is stirred into the whole concoction.
Sometimes, the whole claypot will be served as is with a pair of cutlery so you can eat out of it but nowadays, the hawkers have added some finesse to it by accompanying the pot with a plate, a rice scoop and cutlery so that customers can scoop out the steaming hot rice onto the plate to savour it slowly.
If you like to add some kick to the flavourful dish, it is usually accompanied by some chopped cili padi in soya sauce.
Just add some of the chillies into the rice and you are set for a flavourful adventure of various textures with a kick to it.
Claypot chicken rice is quite a heavy meal so it is available during lunch and dinner time at coffee shops and hawker centres.
Here are some of the stalls to try out in Penang:
1. CK Claypot Chicken Rice, Sunshine Square Food Court
GPS: 5.32598,100.286947
Time: 11am–9pm
2. Batu Lanchang Market Food Court, Batu Lanchang
GPS: 5.389604,100.306045
Time: 12pm–5pm
3. Mandarin Cafe, Lorong Delima 3, Island Glades
GPS: 5.383022,100.304006
Time: 6pm–10pm
4. Sin Hup Aun Café, Jalan Pasar, Pulau Tikus
GPS: 5.429968,100.312319
Time: 10am–3pm
5. Viva Local Food Haven, Jalan Tanjung Tokong
GPS: 5.46289,100.305144
Time: 6pm--10pm
