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Claypot Cooking Care
I’m now a huge fan of claypot (砂鍋/ 煲仔) cooking. I fell in love with it ever since I used it for the first time to cook braised chicken with bittergourd, and the most recent claypot dish I cooked – claypot chicken rice – totally impressed me again with the distinctive smoky flavour. In short, everything looks and tastes better when cooked in a claypot. This is a short article about Chinese claypot care as a reference for those who might be interested to venture into claypot cooking too. If you have more tips about claypot cooking, please share them with me at the comments section.
Benefits of clay pot cooking
1. Since the material is porous, it absorbs water. When cooking food, the moisture is released, making the cooked food moist, juicy and tender similar to steaming effect. There is also less evaporation of water and food do not burn so easily.
2. The claypot retains heat well, so it can cook food in a quicker and more effective way. It also keeps the food warm and further slow-cook it, with lid close for at least another half an hour after cooking.
3. You can re-heat and serve the food in the claypot right away.
4. Dishes such as claypot rice have a wonderful earthy and smoky flavour which is distinctive with claypot cooking.
Selecting a claypot
Chinese claypot with glazed interior and coiled wires on the exterior
1. Make sure there are no visible cracks on the wall and the lid can close snugly.
2. Choose a claypot that comes with metal wires along the walls (pictured above) as it helps to conduct heat quickly and evenly throughout the casserole.
How to prep a brand new claypot for first time use
Soaking brand new claypot in water
1. Totally submerge and soak the claypot in water (turn the lid inside out) for at least half an hour (pictured above).
2. If there is any dirt or powder on the claypot, scrub it well with a hard brush or non-metallic scrubbing pad.
3. If you bought the type which is porous throughout (without the glazed interior walls), you can also boil some water or porridge in it after soaking.
4. Leave the claypot at room temperature to air dry, do not use dish washer.
5. For first time cooking in a new claypot, do not cook food with strong flavours such as seafood or curries as the smell may linger on and affect the taste of the other dishes.
Claypot Yong Tau Foo
Care for clay pot
1. No sudden change in temperature. Claypot can withstand relatively high heat both on the stove top and inside the oven. However, they cannot withstand sudden fluctuations in temperature so always increase heat gradually. Do not put the claypot straight away inside a preheated oven; instead put it inside the cold oven and let it heat up gradually. On stove top, heat the claypot starting with a low medium heat and increase the temperature gradually. If you took the claypot out from the fridge, let it rest and return to room temperature before reheating.
2. Temperature. Since claypot conducts and retains heat well, you generally do not need as high heat as you normally need. You can use lower temperature to cook the same type of food, compared to the heat you normally use when cooking in other types of cookware.
3. Washing. After cooking, use a hard brush or non-metallic scouring pad to scrub. Wash the glazed part of the claypot with mild soapy water. For the unglazed part, do not use detergent as the porous material may absorb it. Instead, use natural cleaning agents such as lemon or vinegar solution.
Good information on cooking with clay pot. I have cooking in clay pot for the last 6 months and the health benefits are really amazing.
Hi!! May I know where can I buy the Chinese clay pot with coiled wires on the exterior in Singapore?
You can buy it from Temple street in Chinatwon. There are couple of utensils shop there that sell clay pot with or without wire gauze. I have tried both both work equally well. If you soak in water for few mins before use.
Thanks Swetha for the info.
that’s exactly where I got it from too :)
Thanks Wiffy! Happy cooking :)
I just bought my first claypot. Its kinda glazed in the inside (and outside too). It is dark color. From Taiwan. I am soaking in water for 24 hours as instructed by the seller.
Part of the reason I bought this claypot (besides trying claypot recipes) is because I want to use it to experiment Moroccan dishes. I don’t have a tagine but given the behavior of a claypot I think it can be a susbtitute.
What do you guys think?
* bookmarking this page
In a Thai/Chinese restaurant, I ordered “Shrimp in earthern pot”. The dish itself was so interesting, I. bought it from the owner. I thought I could find out all about it on the internet, but I can find nothing. It is a thick, flat dish with circular wells…just big enough for one shrimp and sauce, covered by a lid that looks like a miniature Chinese hat. There are 8 little “bowls” in the dish.
Do you know this cooking utensil? Do you have any particular recipes for this dish?
Thanks for sharing your recipes and ideas. I really enjoyed reading it. Regarding claypot, I do not use my claypot regularly so i stored in the basement. Does that mean, each time I use it, i have to soak in water before using plus my claypot have not metal wires around it? Thank you
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Hi. I just bought claypot and today i cook porridge using this claypot.
But, I didn’t soak the claypot. And when almost finish cooking porridge,my clay is cracking a little.
I am really regret not search enought information about care instruction. After crack, i google and found your tips.
Can I use the claypot again?
Hi, if the crack is small, you might be able to use it again, since sometimes the porridge water can help close up small cracks. But if the crack is too big, then you might have to discard and buy a new one.
i burned my clay pot while cooking clay pot chicken rice. How do I remove the burn mark on the bottom of the pot?
Hi,
You say that clay pot can stand only slow temperature changes, so how I can use it on a grill or tao stove? Traditionally, Asian people cook in a clay pot in such way.
The second problem is that in many recipes there is a given time of cooking in a clay pot, for ex. 10 min., but if I have to put my clay pot with raw dish in the oven when it is still cold, how I can to control the time of cooking?
just make sure to heat it up gradually, instead of for example, transferring the claypot from the fridge straight to stove.
Hi,
Thanks for the useful info! Can I use claypot on an induction stove? If not, is there any alternative to claypot without losing too much of the flavor? Thanks!
I don’t think you can use a claypot on an induction stove, because the base of the pot/pan must contain a special magnetic-based material for the heat to be conducted. Make sure it says induction-friendly on the packaging before buying. You can use stainless steel, cast aluminium, etc…