Clay pot cooking - help!

[lesliepc16]

Hello,

I just recently got a clay pot and have no idea what I'm doing with it. Does anyone have any recipes (preferably Asian) or know of any good cookbooks/blogs on this subject?

Thanks,
-L

[yimster]

Read the post just today and have a couple of ideas for cooking in Clay pot cooking. You can use the clay pot to finish a off a dish as well as cooking a whole dish in the clay pot.

The more you use it, the more season it get the more body it lends to the dish. You of course wash it well between uses, but as it ages the better it gets. But the only draw back that it will fall apart in the end.

We have a few well seasoned clay pot which we use during the winter months but at this time of year I do not use it much.

For favorite dishes are claypot rice with perserved meats (lop chong (two type), lop pork, lop duck. And Chinese beef stew with turnip (this dish is not cooked completely in the clay pot, I just add cooked stew and turnip to finish off) which I reheat until it sauce comes to a boil.

Also you will need to make a seasoned soy sauce to add to the top clay pot rice.

Since I do not use recipe, but cook by the seats of my pants you will have to wait until it cools off in California. But I can hardly wait, love clay pot rices.

Hope you get the claypot with wire.

Also I have claypot that are finished both inside and out. Better for persentation but I like the old scholl not finished for favor.

I did get a claypot cookbook will need to find it and post later.

[ickster]

How about a traditional MA PO DOFU recipe? Ive had it this way, cooked by a friends mother in a clay pot.

[coconutz]

I have made a couple of recipes that Mai Pham published in the SF Chronicle for clay pots: Ginger Chicken and Cilantro Shrimp with Celophane Noodles. I didn't have a clay pot and they were good in a regular pot. Both are easy and good. I'm glad to be reminded of these, time to make it again.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...

[lesliepc16]

Oops. I cracked mine by making a really dumb mistake and thought I should post in case anyone was also a newbie: I browned and deglazed some things in the clay pot, and I guess the rapid change of heat cracked it. So, I will have to find another one.

[Carb Lover]

Sorry to hear about this! These darn vessels seem to crack pretty easily. After a few escapades, mine cracked as well. I don't know what the secret is...

You might consider getting an all glazed (except for the outside bottom) one. Mine seems pretty durable and less finnicky, but I still don't use it often.

[Andiereid]

I use mine for things a lot of people use slow cookers for - pot roast, pork roasts, pork cubano, etc. Anything with liquid that can be cooked at low temperatures for long periods of time comes out very well in them.

[Ando]

Take an oven roaster, stuff it with half a lemon, bay leaf, 2-3 whole garlic cloves; season the bird with your favorite herbs and spices; and roast for two hours, covered, and you'll have one of the tastiest roasted chickens ever!!! I have never soaked my clay pot and have had it for years. I didn't know I was supposed to. Just lucky I guess.

[lesliepc16]

Yummy. Pork cubano. That sounds good, and I've never had it or made it. I"ll have to try.

[Andiereid]

Pork Cubano

1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup dark rum
1 medium onion
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder, ancho
2 teaspoons salt
1 whole bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 lb. pork loin roast
cilantro, for garnish

Preheat oven to 325°F Mix first 10 ingredients together. Salt and pepper pork. Pour marinade over pork in clay oven. Transfer pork and marinade to baking pan. Slow roast 2 1/2 - 3 hours, until pork is falling apart. Serve with beans and rice and garnish with cilantro.

[cheryl_h]

I did some online searching when I got my claypot but didn't find much. Barbara Tropp's China Moon has several recipes which look good. I have the book but haven't tried any of these recipes. I made a Vietnamese caramel pork dish which was tasty. I've also used the pot to made panade and bean dishes - Paula Wolfert recommends clay for both.

[Carb Lover]

Your inquiry brought back memories of the claypot intimidation and ignorance I expressed here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/280258?query=clay%20pot%20carb%20lover

I got some very useful advice especially related to pre-soaking, so read the responses and follow the links thoroughly. Sadly, I no longer have the claypot pictured in the photo. I forget what I was making, but the darn thing cracked while I was simmering something on very low heat (I think I even pre-soaked!). I miss it, but I got some good use out of it and still have my smaller Japanese claypot that's glazed all over except the bottom.

I second the recommendation for Alice's chicken in claypot. I made that once and it was very good. Report here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/282093?query=chicken%20claypot%20carb%20lover

You can also try the claypot rice I made that I wrote about in the above thread. The link below has some Viet dishes that can be cooked in a claypot. Any of the meats that need to be slow-slimmered can be cooked in your vessel. Have fun and let us know how it goes!

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/recip...

[lesliepc16]

Thanks for the links! It sounds like since your post, you became a very good clay pot cook :)

Actually before I initially posted my 'help' post, I tried to make a clay pot rice dish but it turned out pretty badly (rice was soggy mostly, burnt on the bottom, and not very flavorful). I'm still a fairly new cook so I think I still need the recipes and advice of others. Looking at your post, I see many mistakes that I made, so I'll try it again over the weekend.

[Carb Lover]

Yes, give the rice a try again. If you have more specific questions on how to make it, just ask and either I or someone else will chime in. I like the suggestion of making beans in it too.

I admit that I don't use my claypot often, but it's nice to have it around. After you've used it a few times, the "fear factor" dissipates.

[lesliepc16]

Hey Carb Lover,

So I made clay pot rice very similar to the way you did it (minus the duck fat since I don't have any). It came out significantly better than last time. The rice really soaks up the flavor. I think the key was stir frying the ingredients a little before putting them in the clay pot. I didn't do that last time. The only problem I had was I didn't get the crisy rice. I wasn't sure if it was because I simmered it too low. Also I put the clay pot in the oven instead since the temperature control on my stovetop isn't that great.

Anyways, next I'll try your country style ribs recipe :). Thanks so much.

-L

[Carb Lover]

Hey, thanks for the follow up! Glad to hear the rice worked better for you this time. Sounds like the rice on the bottom didn't get crispy because you cooked in the oven instead of stove top. Do you have electric or gas burners?

[lesliepc16]

I have a gas burner, so technically I should be able to use it on the stove. I guess I just find my stove tricky because even on low settings, it seems to get things simmering instead of boiling. But next time, I'll heed your advice and do it stovetop. Thanks again for all your help.

-L

[oakjoan]

I can give you loads of clay pot recipes BUT! I have a clay pot that I purchased at a local Chinese market herein Oakland and I lost the directions. I know it has to be soaked in water, but don't know if that needs to be done each time it's used (ala Romertopf) or just the once.

If I can find this out, I'll post some recipes. What a crochety old beast that Oakjoan turned out to be, eh?

[lesliepc16]

Hey,

Actually I have a new style clay pot which is enameled inside, so my friend who gave it to me said it doesn't have to be soaked like the older style. I hope this doesn't change the flavor of dishes cooked in my pot... Hopefully someone else on this board knows about soaking.

[singleguychef]

I think the soaking depends a lot on the climate you live in. If you live in a dry, colder climate, I would suggest soaking it between use, especially if you haven't used it for awhile. But in more humid climates I don't think it's as necessary. My mom in Hawaii says her claypot is fine and she's never soaked it since the first time. But my claypot in the Bay Area cracked while cooking because I didn't soak it subsequent times before I used it again. Plus, it can't take intense heat so don't place it on high.

BTW, I vote for the Vietnamese caramel fish dish for claypot. It's easy and so tasty in claypot.

[lesliepc16]

thanks. i'll check it out.

[tjdavis]

Hi Lesliepc16-
I received a pot like yours-enameled inside, unglazed outside as a housewarming gift. Instructions weren't in English and the pictures unclear. Do you mind providing guidelines for use and/or recipes?

[butterflydreams4321]

Hi, have just purchased 2 clay pots from my local Asian store, one glazed on the inside only the other completely glased except for the bottom, the lady that sold me the pots, said to soak them both for as long as possible preferably a week or more before first use, the longer the soaking, the more flavour they will produce when actually used for cooking. She also said I didn't have to resoak them unless I didn't use them for any length of time.

I will be using mine for mostly Asian but also Indian cooking

Hope this helps

[Carb Lover]

Thanks for the info. Keep us posted on your progress. Claypot cooking still eludes me...

[bitsubeats]

I hear those are good for beans

why do you want asian recipes? did you get the clay pot for an asian store or are you just partial to asian recipes?

[lesliepc16]

I'm open to any recipes, but I purposely got it to make chinese dishes (I've had good clay pot rice dishes and various casseroles). But, I have no idea how to begin. I might just search for good clay pot cookbooks but thought I'd check you guys first.

[paulj]

I have an inexpensive one with a wire cage. I soaked it before the first use, and have repeated the soaking if I haven't used in a while. So far I have only used it over a gas flame (a butane hot plate). It should work in an oven, but I have my doubts about an electric stove top.

Functionally it is like a small dutch oven with very good heat retention, so a variety of soups, stews, hot-pots, rice and noodle dishes should work (anything that doesn't require rapid changes in temperature). The glazed inside surface is relatively non-stick.

paulj

[lesliepc16]

Thanks. Do you have any dishes you made with it that you particularly like?

Maybe I"ll be less intimidated by it if I first cook things I've already tried in my dutch oven (like, as you mention, stews)

[paulj]

One first things I tried was inspired by Vietnamese fish in carmel sauce. I say inspired, because I rarely follow a recipe exactly. I think the pot is ideal for fish steaks, both in dimension, and cooking time.

http://anhsfoodblog.blogspot.com/2007...

Another dish that comes to mind is a Japanese one-pot where miso paste is spread around the sides of the pot, and slowly disolves in the broth. The name evokes a muddy river bank.

paulj

[pitu]

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/281681