My Comfort Food

I must admit something....I don't cook at all!  Yup, Mama B doesn't cook.  My hubby (We'll call him Mr. F1, since he's a big fan of Formula 1) wears the cooking apron in the family.  He cooks pretty good which is surprising because he only started to cook when we got married.  Mr. F1 and I used to alternate on a weekly basis taking turns cooking, but when Cupcake arrived cooking was harder for me since I am the one who drives her to Grandma's house and picks her up.  Mr. F1 and I try to seriously split the house chores 50/50 as much as we can....I think this is what helps me keep my sanity most of the time.  Mr. F1 and I also agree that we get time off to relax once a month.  I usually head to the spa and get a pedi/mani or go shopping.  I am tired most of the time, but that doesn't mean I actually have to look tired.  Just because I am married and a mom, doesn't mean I have to sacrifice style too.

I digress! .....Mr. F1 cooks mostly Malaysian-Chinese food.  It's very tasty and yummy!  When we were dating my sister always looked forward to his cooking!  His food actually tastes like the food you would buy from a Chinese restaurant.  (Obviously by now you've figured out my sister and I are not Chinese)

Below is a recipe Mr. F1 uses to make Claypot Chicken Rice.  It's actually from a book, "Anges Chang's Hawkers' Delights".  It's written in Chinese and English.  The English translation isn't the best, so bear with me on this one.

This recipe asks for a claypot, but you don't need to use one.  We use a rice cooker and my sister uses
a regular pot.

2 cups rice, washed and drained
3 cups chicken stock (If you are using store bought chicken stock, Mr. F1 advises to use 70% chicken stock and 30% water, so it isn't that salty.)
2 chicken drumsitcks, cut into pices
5 Shitake mushrooms, soaked, cut into half  (Mr. F1 uses the dried ones)
1 Chinese sausage  (Sometimes my sister and I used to omit this...I know gasp!)
3 cm thick young ginger, sliced thinly

Marinade:
2tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine (Mr. F1 uses Shao Xing Cooking Wine)
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tspn pepper
1/2 tspn sugar
1/2 tbsp cornflour

spring onion and red chillies for garnish  (My sister and I omit this too...another gasp! My sister isn't too crazy about spring onion and back then my tolerance for anything spicy didn't even exist!)

1. Mix chicken, mushrooms w/ marinade and ginger for 30 minutes
2. Put rice and chicken stock into a claypot (rice cooker/pot)., cover and bring to boil.  Lower the temp and cook w/ low heat till holes are formed on top (About 15 minutes)
3. Spread marinated chicken and mushrooms, Chinese sausage on top, cover and cook with low heat till rice is dry and chicken pieces are cooked (another 15 minutes). Remove from heat.
4. Before serving you can sprinkle spring onion and red chili on top.

If you have any questions regarding this recipe feel free to ask me.  Send me an email at urbanwarriormoms@gmail.com.  I'll  be more than happy to forward them over to Mr. F1.  I love it when he cooks this because the dish is very tasty and brings comfort to me.  If any of you also have other versions of this recipe feel free to make a comment.