Cast-iron Pot Oil-blanched Chicken + Rice 铸铁锅油煮鸡+饭

Skin-less chicken breast meat is a healthier choice. However, it is not easy to cook the meat to tender and juicy. Without good control of temperature and duration, I often got a chicken breast meat which was stiff and dry 🙁

Recently, I learned from a Taiwanese blogger about cast-iron waterless cooking. I was surprised at the juiciness, tenderness and sweetness of the chicken breast meat cooked using this method. The full flavour of the meat was cooked without adding water. The oil in the cooking helps to bring out the flavour of the meat, while the juice of the meat helps to creat the steam in the pot. I can't believe chicken breast meat can be so nice and tender. My daughter said she can have this everyday 💖

In this waterless cooking, meat is cooked in a cast-iron pot with some oil, cover with a lid, and cook at medium heat. When the meat releases the juice, it helps to steam-cook the meat in the later process. After about 8 minutes of heating, the meat is left to cool down in the pot for about 30 minutes. The heavy cast-iron lid helps to lock the vapour in the pot and turning it into a partial-pressure cooker.

I used the collected chicken stock to cook the chicken-flavour  rice with some carrot cubes, button mushroom slices, and diced celery. Salt is the only ingredient needed. The rest are the nice flavour of the fresh ingredients. With homemade chicken rice chilli and cucumber salad, a wholesome meal was easily prepared and served 😋

Ingredients

170~200g chicken fillets/breast

Some fine salt

2 tbsp diced carrot

2 fresh button mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp diced celery

1 cup rice

Water

Some salt, optional

Optional 😉
Homemade chicken rice chilli

Homemade cucmber salad

Sesame oil 

Directions

1. Rinse chicken fillets and pat dry.

If you're using chicken breast meat, cut it into a few broad long strips.

Rub the meat with a little fine salt.

2. Pour about 1 to 2 tbsp of rice bran/olive oil into a 16cm cast-iron pot. Swirl the pot so the wall of the pot is coated with oil too.

Arrange the meat in a single layer at the base of the pot. Turn the meat a few times to coat with oil entirely.

3. Cover with a lid and cook at medium heat for about 5 minutes, or till you can hear sizzling and crackling sound (coming from the juice exploding in hot oil), and smell the nice aroma of the meat.

The original recipe suggested to.wait till the steam starts to escape under the lid.

Turn down the heat,

and flip the meat over to cook the other side.

Cover the lid and return to medium heat. Continue to cook for 3 minutes.

Without opening the lid, remove the pot from the stove and let it cool down to room temperature.

4. After the pot has cooled down, transfer the meat to a bowl. Keep the chicken stock for cooking the rice later.

5. Prepare carrot, button mushrooms, and celery.

Rinse and soak the rice for about 20 to 30 minutes.

6. Pour rice, chicken stock from Step 4, water,

a little salt, optional

the prepared carrot, button mushroom and celery into a rice cooker pot.

And start the rice cooking process. When the process ends, "Keep Warm" for about 5 minutes. Allow the rice to sit in the rice cooker for another 30 minutes for the rice to dry up a little.

You can place the bowl of meat above the hot rice to warm up.

10. While waiting for the  rice to cook, you can prepare the Cucumber salad  and chilli sauce and keep them in the fridge.

11. Serve the chicken meat with warm rice, cucmber salad, and chicken rice chilli.

You may add a few drops of sesame oil for added fragrance

Enjoy, yum yum 😋