Dungeness Crab Clay Pot Rice (煲仔北美大肉蟹飯, Bou1 Zai2 Bak1 Mei5 Daai6 Juk6 Haai5 Faan6)

This will likely be my last post for 2016. Since Dungeness crab, a crab local to where I live, is in season now and making this tasty recipe is real easy, I felt that this would be an appropriate last dish for the end of the year. I hope you’ve enjoyed, and maybe tried, a few of the recipes that I’ve posted this year. I wish you and your family a Happy New Year for 2017!

As I stated earlier, Dungeness crab is a local delicacy and it’s in season right now. I’m fortunate enough to be able to buy cooked Dungeness crabs at my local Asian market. I find that to be a real time saver since I don’t have to cook the crabs before shelling to separate the meat from the shell. Dungeness crabs are usually weigh around one pound (454 grams) and yield about half their weight in meat (1/2 lb. or 277 g.). So you’ll need at least two crabs to get approximately 1 lb. (454 g.) of meat. If you’re pressed for time or can’t obtain Dungeness crab, you can always use canned or frozen crab. The crab is added at the end of cooking (when the clay pot rice rests for 10 minutes) to heat up the crab and preserve the crab flavor.

I followed the same procedure outlined in the Clay Pot Rice (煲仔飯, Bou¹ Zai² Faan⁶) recipe, but add mini-Shiitake mushrooms, together with the Dungeness crab meat. The rice is made even tastier by using chicken stock and the Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid to cook the rice instead of water. I made my own stock using the Bone Soup (湯, Tong1) recipe, but if you’re pressed for time, canned or boxed stock can be substituted. The other option is to just use the Shiitake rehydration liquid.

Using a clay pot to make rice is very similar to making rice in a pot. A crust is produced on the bottom of the clay pot, similar to cooking rice in a pot, and you don’t have to reboil to release the scorched rice from the bottom. The taste of the rice is very similar to making rice in a pot. The sequence of cooking the rice in a clay pot is:

1. Pre-heat the clay pot over medium heat for 5 minutes to prevent shocking the clay pot and possible breaking it.
2. Bring the clay pot rice to a boil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
3. Simmer the rice for 15 minutes over low heat.
4. Scorch the rice using medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the clay pot to sit for 10 minutes to release the scorched rice from the bottom.
6. Serve the rice.

Given that there are many variables when cooking rice in a clay pot, the cooked rice will vary from every time you cook it. If more water is used, the rice will take longer to cook. If too little water is used, the rice becomes more al dente and the volume decreases because the rice doesn’t get fluffy. Burner heat will determine how quickly the rice cooks and how scorched the rice will get. You just have to experiment and watch for the indications that signal when the rice is cooked to your personal preference. Making rice in a clay pot seems like a simple task, but you’ll find that it takes practice to get consistent results.

Enjoy!

                                                   

Ingredients

1 cup	500 ml.	Brown jasmine rice (糙香米, cou3 hoeng1 mai5) or jasmine rice (香米, hoeng1 mai5)
24	24	Small dried whole Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
1 cup	500 ml.	Chicken stock or use stock made from the Bone Soup (湯, Tong1) recipe
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
		Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid
1 lb.	500 g.	Cooked Dungeness crab meat (北美大肉蟹, bak1 mei5 daai6 juk6 haai5)
1 stalk	1 stalk	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
¼ cup	125 ml.	Cilantro (芫茜, jyun4 sai1), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces

Equipment

3.2 qt.

3.0 L.

Clay Pot or larger

Preparation Instructions (1 Day Before)

1. Separate the meat and remove the shells from the cooked Dungeness crab. Put the crab meat into the refrigerator in a covered container. Follow the same procedure to thaw frozen crab overnight.
2. Add boiling water and soak the Shiitake mushrooms in a bowl. If you need to quickly rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).

Cooking Instructions

1. Remove the crab meat from the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking. If using canned crab meat, open the can and remove the meat from the can. Save any liquid for later use in cooking the dish.
2. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid. Remove the stems from the Shiitake mushrooms. I used very small whole Shiitake mushrooms, but larger mushrooms (use five) can be used, just dice the mushrooms into ½-inch pieces. Save the rehydration liquid for later use.
3. Wash and cut the green onions and cilantro into ½-inch (15 mm) pieces.
4. Wash the rice, and mix together with the Shiitake mushrooms in the clay pot. Add the Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, and the stock to the clay pot. Add enough Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid and any liquid from the canned crab (if using canned crab) to cover the rice plus ½-inch (15 mm) and cover the pot. Allow the rice to soak in the liquid for one hour before cooking (this is important).
5. Make sure that the outside of the clay pot is dry before placing on the heat source. If the outside got wet when the rice and liquid were placed into the pot, wipe and dry the outside of the clay pot. Heat clay pot over low heat for 5 minutes to pre-heat the pot. This prevents the clay pot from cracking if the pot were suddenly placed over high heat.
6. Increase the heat to medium-high for 10 minutes until the water boils in the clay pot. You should not lift the lid to see if the water is boiling, as it will cool down the pot. When a large amount of steam starts escaping from the clay pot cover, the water is boiling. The amount of time needed to boil the water in the clay pot will depend upon the amount of liquid and the setting and type of the burner, so the time may be less for a hotter heat source, or more for a lower heat source.
7. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the rice for 15 minutes.
8. Increase the heat to medium-high for 10 minutes to scorch the rice on the bottom. Depending upon your heat source and the setting used, the scorching will start to occur sometime during the last 5 minutes (the start of scorching may take longer than 10 minutes if the heat is lower). Since scorching occurs at the bottom of the clay pot, you won’t be able to see the degree of scorching. Use your sense of smell to determine when scorching starts by smelling the steam coming from the clay pot. Before scorching occurs, the steam will smell like cooking rice. Once scorching starts, you will detect a burning smell coming from the steam.
9. Once scorching starts, the amount of time to continue scorching the rice is a personal preference. You will have to experiment with the amount of time to suit your preference. If no scorching is desired, turn off the heat immediately. I let my rice scorch for 1-2 minutes before turning off the heat. More time over the heat will mean more scorching.
10. Turn of the heat, remove the clay pot cover, add the crab meat, green onions, and cilantro to the top of the rice (don’t mix), cover the clay pot, and leave the clay pot on the burner for at least 10 minutes. The rice will stick to the clay pot if removed immediately, so resting the clay pot on the heat source for 10 minutes is important and the crab meat will heat up.
11. Remove the clay pot cover, mix the entire contents of the clay pot together, and serve the rice immediately.