Beef and Egg Clay Pot Rice
Clay pot rice, aka Baozai fan, is an iconic Cantonese street food packed with rich flavors and contrasting textures - fluffy long-grain rice topped with savory tender beef and perfectly cooked eggs, the bottom carefully scorched until golden and crispy. Clay pot rice has many variations; beef and egg is the classic choice, but once you have the technique down you can play with other toppings such as chicken, pork, sausage, fish, and shrimp. Why use a clay pot: it has a high heat capacity, which allows the rice to form a perfect crust on the entire bottom; a heavy-duty cast-iron skillet will do the same job. Chinese name: 滑蛋牛肉煲仔饭 (hua dan niu rou bao zi fan).
⏱️ Prep: 40 min🍳 Cook: 30 min
Ingredients
| 283 g | beef |
| 2.9 g | salt |
| 1.6 g | baking soda |
| 14 g | Chinese cooking wine (optional) |
| 0.8 g | ground white pepper |
| 8.3 g | dark soy sauce (for beef) |
| 7.5 g | cornstarch |
| 17 g | satay sauce (optional) |
| 27 g | cooking oil |
| 13.5 g | minced garlic |
| 10 g | diced white part of the scallions |
| 6 g | minced ginger |
| 25 g | soy sauce |
| 9 g | oyster sauce |
| 8.5 g | fish sauce |
| 4.2 g | sugar |
| 60 g | water (for seasoning sauce) |
| 300 g | jasmine rice |
| 360 g | water (to cook the rice) |
| 27 g | sesame oil, to drizzle around the rims |
| 1 | egg |
| 180 g | baby bok choy, quartered and blanched |
| 8 g | diced green part of the scallions, as garnish |
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 1/8-inch thick slices and place into a large mixing bowl. Use a tender cut such as sirloin, ribeye, flank, or New York strip steak.
- Add the salt, white pepper, baking soda, dark soy sauce, cornstarch, Chinese cooking wine, and optional satay sauce to the beef and mix well. Set aside.
- Add cooking oil, minced garlic, ginger, and diced scallions to a saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until the aromatics are slightly golden. Turn off the stove and let it cool.
- Pour the oil into the marinated beef, but leave the fried aromatics behind.
- Mix the beef thoroughly until it is coated with the fragrant oil evenly. Set aside for 15 minutes. (Chef's Secret: this step is key to tender, juicy meat as the oil locks in moisture. The beef is steamed above the rice so it won't get much Maillard reaction; the fragrance from these fried aromatics is important.)
- While waiting, wash and rub the rice gently under running water several times and drain thoroughly.
- Add the rice to the clay pot along with 1.5 cups water and soak for 15 minutes to allow the grains to fully absorb the moisture.
- Place the saucepan with the fried aromatics onto the stove and add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and 4 Tbsps water. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Turn off and set the sauce aside.
- Place the clay pot with the rice on the stove and cook over high heat for 10-14 minutes or until most of the water is evaporated. Resist opening the lid; you'll know the water is evaporated when the edge of the pot stops popping bubbles.
- Turn off the heat and uncover the pot. Place the marinated beef slices onto the rice.
- Put on the lid and drizzle the sesame oil around the rims of the clay pot. (Chef's Secret: a clay pot lid's diameter is shorter than the rim, which lets the oil drip down the wall, creating the signature scorched rice base.)
- Turn the heat back to high and cook for 3 more minutes, rotating the clay pot every 20 seconds to ensure an even crust. Use oven mitts as the handles get very hot.
- Quickly open the lid and crack one egg in the center. Continue to cook on high heat and rotate the clay pot for 2 more minutes. You'll know the crust has formed when you smell the nutty roasted rice fragrance.
- Turn off the heat. Add some blanched baby bok choy around the edge of the clay pot, drizzle the seasoning sauce all over the rice, and sprinkle some diced scallions as garnish.