Beer Chicken - Claypot Style

I was treated to a good one-pot dish meal in office last week by one of our nice lady. I love how simple and heart-warming this dish is, especially when beer is added!

The trips to Europe has kinda turned me into an alcoholic! I need beer even in my food???  Let's not sidetrack. Okay, I must say this is really one pot of comfort food. You get meat (chicken), potatoes and carrots all in that 1 pot. Good lot of gravy for pairing with rice too! Beer made up the gravy.  Sounds good? Cook it :)

I added a handful of black fungus to have more varieties. This is quite a versatile dish. You can add other ingredients too. Chinese dried mushrooms, canned button mushrooms, radish etc. It is really up to you. This is somewhat like the chinese version of meat stew.  Hubby savoured and enjoyed every spoonful of this dish.   Yeah!

Beer Chicken - Claypot Style 
(Serves 2)

2 chicken thighs (skin and big fatty lumps removed), cut to chunky pieces
3 Brastagi Potatoes, deskinned & quartered
1 big carrot or 2 small sized carrots, deskinned & cut into bite sizes
a handful of black fungus, soaked in water till softened, snip off hard areas, rinsed, drained and tear into bite sizes
1 onion, deskinned and quartered

1 can of beer (room temperature)
1.5 tbsp oil
Half tablespoon of old ginger juice
1.5 tablespoon oyster sauce / abalone sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking Wine / Hua Diao Jiu
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
a dash of pepper

1 small piece ginger, sliced thinly
1 tbsp black soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour (mixed with 1 tbsp water) - for thickening (optional if you prefer a more watery consistency)

Spring onions, 1 sprig cut into 1 inch length and another sprig cut into small pieces - for garnishing (optional)

1. Marinate chicken meat with ginger juice, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, chinese cooking wine, sesame oil and pepper.  Cover with clingwrap and eave in fridge to marinate for 2 hours.

2. Heat oil in claypot till hot and add in ginger slices and onion slices and saute till fragrant.

3. Place in marinated chicken pieces and sauce into claypot.  Mix well.

4. When chicken meat has turned white, add in potatoes, carrots and black fungus and mix well.  Cover and let the dish cook for about minutes on medium heat.

5. Pour in beer and stir well.  Cover and let it come to a boil.

6. Add black soy sauce and mix well to coat all ingredients. Put in the big pieces of spring onions then give a quick stir, cover again and let it simmer on medium low heat till potato and carrot and softened. (You may do a taste test at this stage, if it is bland - add in some light soy sauce or oyster sauce, whichever preferred)

7. Add in cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce.  Be sure to be stirring the dish while adding the mixture to prevent lumpy gravy forming.
8. Turn off heat, Sprinkle spring onions on top and serve with rice.