A typical college student might resort to pizza or mac & cheese for an easy meal, but as an international student, I know there is no comfort food like the dishes I grew up eating in China.
To satisfy my cravings for the taste of rice, I have simplified the traditional Cantonese style clay pot rice into a dish that I can make in my dorm. This recipe can be made within half an hour, only using a rice cooker. I bought all of my ingredients at Lee’s Oriental Market, a 15 minute walk away from my campus, but all ingredients can easily be found in your local Asian grocery store.
“Clay Pot” Rice with Chinese Sweet Sausage
Ingredients
Instructions
Wash the vegetables and boil water in the rice cooker.
Add bok choy or your choice of veggies into the boiling water, and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Rinse the rice about three times then add the dry rice to a bowl and fill it with water. Use your hands to move the rice around in the bottom of the bowl.
Carefully, pour out the starchy water, making sure not to pour out the rice too. Repeat until the water is clear.
#SpoonTip: Remember, this is an essential step to get rid of the dirt and extra starch from the rice.
Add water to your cleaned rice (usually one cup rice with one cup water, but you can change the amount of water depending on your personal preference).
Dump it into the rice cooker bowl and press ‘Cook’.
#SpoonTip: Soaking the rice an hour beforehand will create stickier and fluffier taste.
When the rice is almost cooked (when there is still a little water left in the rice cooker), add sausage links on top of the rice.
Once the rice is done, take out the sausage links and cut them on a diagonal (about 1/4 inch wide).
Add the sliced sausages and cooked vegetable to the rice.
Pour soy sauce and olive oil into the rice. Season to taste.
Mix everything together. Let the rice sit for 3-5 minutes before serving.