Your Cooking Lesson

Advice, explanation, and in-depth information to help you achieve recipe success.

Chinese cooking is so much more than stir-fry! In cold winter weather Chinese cooks warm up their friends and family with a wide repertoire of hearty stews, such as this dish of chicken and mushrooms simmered in a savory Asian brown sauce. In traditional restaurants and home kitchens, such stews are made in handcrafted clay pots like the one shown below. Many clay pot recipes include the words táu guàn (Mandarin) or bàozai (Cantonese) in their titles, signifying that they’re stewed, braised, or casseroled dishes.

In traditional Chinese cooking, clay pot chicken would be made with a whole, small fryer chicken that is first disjointed and then chopped through the bone into bite-size pieces. This preference stems from the belief (which I share) that poultry, meats, and fish are most flavorful when cooked on the bone. Fabricating such chicken requires a cleaver, as well as acquiring the skill to use it safely. If you live in an area with a substantial East Asian, South Asian, or Caribbean population, you likely can purchase “curry cut” chicken from the meat counter of an ethnic supermarket. But for ease of eating, this recipe uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into large chunks.

Although fresh shiitake mushrooms make a fine clay pot dish, for a more authentic flavor and texture you may want to replace them with Chinese dried shiitake mushrooms if you have the time. Properly prepared, Chinese dried shiitakes have a distinctive, earthy, umami flavor and pleasantly chewy texture that’s totally different from fresh shiitakes.

Dried shiitakes are a pantry staple throughout China, and are available at all Asian groceries and online. The smaller, flatter, less costly type are called “fragrant mushrooms,” shown below left. To their right are the larger, meatier, and more flavorful “flower mushrooms” that are more expensive. Basic preparation for dried mushrooms involves re-hydrating them by soaking them in boiling water and then removing their tough stems. For best flavor, they’re then par-cooked using the “flavor braising” method I learned years ago from a Cantonese restaurant chef. If you’d like to try replacing the fresh mushrooms in this recipe with dried ones, you can learn the method in this post: https://prepholdcook.com/recipes/essentials/flavor-braised-chinese-shiitake-mushrooms/

All types of rice cook by absorbing liquid, which causes the rice grains to soften and swell. Most types of rice can be cooked directly in boiling water start-to-finish. However, white jasmine rice (like basmati) has a soft texture that gets mushy when cooked that way. After the dust-like particles that result from milling have been rinsed away, jasmine rice is then soaked in hot tap water for 20 to 30 minutes so that it absorbs some water slowly and the grains swell gradually. Then it’s drained and cooked with water measured in a ratio of 1:1 to the original amount of raw rice. For best texture, start cooking, covered, on a stove burner until the water is absorbed and then finish it in the oven. In traditional Chinese cooking rice is not seasoned with salt; however, I use a touch of salt for savor and a bit of oil to make the grains glisten.

Bok choy is a member of the brassica vegetable cultivar family originally developed in China. Standard bok choy grows to a height of 14 to 18 inches, has a slightly bitter flavor and firm texture. Baby bok choy is harvested young, when it reaches a height of 6 to 8 inches. Its flavor is milder and sweeter than mature bok choy, and its texture is more tender. Standard bok choy is sold at Asian markets along with the baby variety. Most non-ethnic supermarkets offer only the baby variety. You can choose between two types: Shanghai baby bok choy, shown below left, has green stalks that are more tender than the white variety; white-stalk baby bok choy is shown on the right. The two are interchangeable.

Because the leaves of all bok choy are more tender than the stalks, for even cooking it’s good practice to separate the leaves from the stalks and cook them for a lesser time, as directed in this recipe.

Let’s prep!

In most traditional Chinese households rice is made fresh just before every meal. When using standard long-grain rice, it takes only about 1/2 hour to cook rice from raw to ready, so it’s not much of a time problem to do so. However, fragrant rices like the jasmine variety we’re using for this recipe require soaking before cooking, adding at least an additional 20 minutes to the recipe’s finishing time. Although the soaking is unattended time, still that may be too long for you on a busy weeknight. So you may choose to pre-cook your rice as part of prep.

Fortunately, cooked rice reheats quite well in the microwave oven. There’s also new research suggesting that reheated rice is actually nutritionally better for your metabolic health than freshly-cooked rice. https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/nx-s1-5392004/rice-nutrition-pasta-digest-super-food

Whether you cook your jasmine rice ahead of time or just before dinner, the method is the same. Choose a heavy, ovenproof saucepan with a tight-fitting lid—or use an appropriate-size rice cooker. For even cooking, the pan should be just large enough to accommodate the finished cooked rice with a little headroom. If you know that raw rice, when cooked, expands to three times its original volume, it’s easy to calculate the correct pan size. Here’s an example: for 1 cup raw rice choose a 3 1/2 c to 4 c pan. Wash the rice under cool running water, swishing with your hand, until the water changes from cloudy to almost clear; avoid losing rice grains as the water spills over the edges of the pan. Pour out the rinsing water, and then cover the rice with very hot tap water. Allow to soak for 20 to 30 minutes only. Preheat the oven for the rice’s final steaming.

When soaking is complete, pour out the soaking water. Now add measured cold water in a 1:1 ratio to the original volume of the rice before soaking. (example: for 1 cup raw rice use 1 c water.) Add the oil and salt, and then cook. If using a saucepan cover it, bring the water to the boil, and then turn the heat to low. In about 10 minutes peep under the lid. When the rice has absorbed all the water, put the covered pan in the oven to finish steaming. Alternatively, follow the rice cooker procedure instructions.

If prepping ahead, fully cool the rice to room temperature, place it in a container, and then immediately refrigerate it.

For both stir-fry and Chinese braising, proteins usually are marinated for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Unlike many Western marinades, Asian marinades are not meant for tenderization. Rather, they’re intended to add flavor and coat the meat with a starch slick that prevents sticking and increases browning during the stir-fry phase of cooking. Once liquids are added to the pan, the marinade starch also helps to thicken the resulting sauce. Cornstarch is the most frequently used product.

Before marinating, trim the chicken thighs of visible fat and then cut them into large pieces about 1 1/2 inch in size. No need to mix the marinade ahead of time; you can add the liquid ingredients, followed by the cornstarch, right onto the chicken. Mix thoroughly. Because Asian marinades contain no highly acidic ingredients that break down muscle fibers, there’s little risk of over-marination. So you can refrigerate the mixture for several days.

When Western cooks think of Chinese vegetables, carrots aren’t usually the first thing that comes to mind. However, carrots were introduced to China from Central Asia as early as the 13th century. Popular in both restaurants and in home cooking, carrots add crunch, color, and a hint of sweetness to many Chinese dishes. One of the most interesting ways to fabricate carrots is roll-cutting, a Chinese technique that produces sharply angled cylindrical wedges that give dishes a distinctive look.

After peeling, start at the pointed end with your knife held at a 45-degree angle and cut off a 3/4-inch piece. Roll the carrot away from you, giving it a quarter turn (90 degrees), and then make another diagonal cut. Continue up the length of the carrot. To ensure even sized pieces, as you approach the thick end of the carrot cut the pieces a little shorter than 3/4 inch.

One way to cook the carrots is to add them to the sauce as the chicken braises. But it’s difficult to judge their doneness when cooked in the sauce. You’ll get a more precise result, and have less to worry about at dinnertime, if you blanch and refresh the carrots as part of prep. Drop them into boiling water and cook until a knife inserted into a carrot piece meets fairly firm resistance. In your finished dish you want the carrots to have a little crunch, so don’t overcook them. Refresh under cold water and then blot dry on paper towels.

Assemble the remaining ingredients and your prep is done. Here’s your mise tray:

It’s dinnertime—let’s COOK!

Fill a steamer bottom with about an inch of water and place it on a turned-off burner. Cut the baby bok choy heads in half where the leaves meet the stalks, then trim off the bottoms. Separate the stalks, and then wash the stalks and leaves thoroughly. Bok choy often harbors a lot of soil particles at the base of the stalks, so be sure to rub off any visible soil. On some stalks you may see small black dots that look like soil particles but they won’t rub off; these discolorations are harmless. Hold the stalks in the steamer basket, but keep the leaves separate to add later.

To fabricate the mushrooms, use kitchen scissors to snip off and discard the tough stems. Cut the larger mushrooms in half, then wash under cold water. Check the gill areas for soil particles. Then drain the mushrooms and blot them very dry with paper towels. You want minimal moisture when beginning the sauté process.

After you set up the rice for reheating in the microwave, you’re ready to make the clay pot chicken. The first step is sautéing/stir-frying the vegetables. Place a carbon steel sauté pan or wok over high heat and wait for it to get very hot. Because they’re soft and porous, fresh mushrooms contain and retain a lot of moisture. To make them firm and concentrate their flavor, they require high-heat searing in a generous amount of oil. Give the mushrooms a final squeeze dry, add oil to the pan, and then slide them in. Sauté until they shrink slightly, their color darkens, and no more steam rises from the pan. Transfer the mushrooms to a sizzle pan or tray. Then stir fry the carrots and scallions, and add them to the tray.

Stir the chicken in its marinade to coat all the pieces. Squeeze a little more oil into the pan and then add the chicken. Allow it to sear undisturbed for a few seconds, forming a bottom crust that will lift off of the pan surface. Then begin to stir-fry, tossing and turning the chicken until it browns on all sides. Add the ginger and garlic, stir-fry for a few more seconds, stir the sauce, and then pour it into the pan. Stir and scrape the pan surface to deglaze it, releasing any sucs (browned protein bits) that have formed. Lift the chicken into the clay pot or Dutch oven and pour the sauce overtop.

Now turn the burner under the steamer bottom to high heat. Microwave the rice until hot.

Cover the pot, place it over low heat for about 1 minute, and then raise the heat to medium. Bring the sauce to a lively simmer and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes. Make a slurry by stirring cold water into the cornstarch. Add the vegetables and bring the sauce to the boil. Quickly stir the slurry in its container, push aside the solids in the pot, and then stir in the slurry. The sauce will thicken almost immediately. Evaluate the flavor and sauce consistency and correct if necessary (adding more soy sauce or salt, thinning the sauce with a little water or thickening it with more slurry to your discretion).

Cover the steamer basket, place it on the steamer bottom, and steam the bok choy stalks for about 1 minute. Add the leaves and steam for about 30 seconds longer. Toss the bok choy with a little salt.

Now you’re ready to plate.

Spoon the rice slightly left of center onto each warmed dinner plate. Make a well in the rice. Spoon a portion of the chicken and vegetables into the well, and then spoon some sauce overtop. Arrange a portion of the bok choy on the back right of the plate.