Clay Pot Rice with Black Bean Pork Ribs 豉汁排骨煲仔飯 (Cantonese: see jup pai gwut bo zai fan) is a Cantonese clay pot dish. Clay pot rice dishes are over 2000 years old. They are made famous by outdoor restaurants on the streets and allies in Guangzhou. The rice gets its rich flavour by cooking the meat toppings on top of it. Then cooking the whole pot under charcoal flames in a clay burner creates another layer of flavour. Adding oil to the lid of the pot makes the rice on the bottom extra crispy. But there's more, the pièce de résistance is the sweet soy sauce drizzle on top of the rice.
The sweet soy sauce is definitely what makes me want to eat this dish. It’s not just sugar, soy sauce and water. It’s ginger, shallots, green onions, cilantro, pork fat infused sweet soy sauce. Perfection really is in the details! The combination is to die for! In my recipe, I’ll show you how to make this amazing sauce with tender and flavourful ribs. And of course, the crispy rice on the bottom! I have summarized the steps in a chart at the end of the recipe. This will help you make perfect clay pot rice even if you customize your toppings to suit your tastes.
When you try my Clay Pot Rice with Black Bean Pork Ribs 豉汁排骨煲仔飯 recipe at home, try to resist removing the lid until you place it on the dinner table with everyone gathered around. The aroma you get after removing the lid is amazing and it will activate everyone’s first step of digestion….salivation!
If you like this dish, you can also try my Clay Pot Chicken Rice 北菇滑雞煲仔飯 which doesn’t need to be brined or marinated for very long. My Garlic Roasted Pork and Tofu Clay Pot 蒜子火腩豆腐煲 recipe is also a very popular clay pot dish that is easy and delicious!
Clay Pot Rice with Black Bean Pork Ribs 豉汁排骨煲仔飯
Ingredients
- 500 g Pork riblets
- 1 Thai chili (or any chili), optional
- 1 c Uncooked rice
Long grain rice is preferred, but I used short grain rice - 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 c Water
- 2 stalks Green onions , green part, chopped
Ingredients for riblet marinade:
- 15 g Fermented black beans
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Light soy sauce
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- 1 stalk Green onions , large segments
- 2 tsp Oil
Ingredients for brine:
- 2 tsp White vinegar
- 1 tsp Salt
Ingredients for sweet soy sauce:
- 1 Shallot sliced
- 2 stalks Green onions , white part, smashed
- 4 stalks Cilantro
add more if you like cilantro - 4 slices Ginger
- 90 ml Water
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 ½ tsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Oil
Instructions
Instructions for prepping the riblets:
- Clean and rinse off bone fragments from riblets.
- Put the riblets into a mixing bowl, add water to cover the riblets, add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp white vinegar. Soak for 30 minutes.
The salt will remove unwanted odours and impurities from the meat and the vinegar will help the meat loosen from the bone after steaming 
- Toast fermented black beans in a toaster oven or in a wok for 3 minutes or until aromatic. Do not add oil
- Mince 4 cloves of garlic and set aside
- Wash green onions. Cut into 2-3 sections and smash it with the side of your cleaver. Set aside
You may want to chop up some of the green parts and save it as a garnish - Mince chili and set aside
- After 30 minutes in the brine, rinse the ribs three times to remove the salt and vinegar. Squeeze the ribs with your hands to remove excess water
- Let dry in a colander for 30 minutes or absorb with paper towels
Riblets should be quite light in colour as most of the blood has been rinsed away. Riblets need to be quite dry so that they can absorb the marinade better resulting in more flavourful meat - Marinate the riblets with 1 tbsp Oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp cornstarch, ¼ tsp white pepper powder, minced garlic, fermented black beans and green onions.
- Use your hand to squeeze the riblets and mix it around to help the riblets absorb all the marinade. Do this for 2-3 minutes
- Put everything into a zipper bag and put in the fridge to marinate for at least 3 hours. You may also choose to marinate overnight in the fridge
Instructions for sweet soy sauce:
- In a pan or pot, on medium heat, add 2 tbsp oil (optional: use pork or chicken fat)
- Add ginger, shallots, green onion whites and cilantro and stir-fry for approx. 3 minutes until ingredients have browned
- Turn the heat down to low and add 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 ½ tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar and 90 ml water. Mix well and let it come to a simmer
- Cook the sauce at a simmer for 5-6 minutes to infuse aroma into the sauce. Do not let the sauce come to a boil, it may create sourness to the sauce.
- Strain and ready to be used
Instructions for clay pot rice:
- Remove the green onions from the riblets and give the riblets a bit of a massage to loosen them up while still in the zipper bag. Set aside
- Measure 1 cup of uncooked rice, pour it into a container and soak with water for 30 minutes. Then pour through a sieve, rinse with water until water runs clear, shake off excess water and let dry in the sieve
1 cup is roughly equal to 1 ½ cups using the rice cooker provided cup - Put the rice into a clay pot, add 1 c water to the rice
Use an equal volume of rice to water. So, if making 2 c rice, use 2 c water - Cover with a lid and turn heat on to high. Bring water to a boil. This should take approx. 5 minutes
- Once the water in the clay pot begins to boil, remove the lid and turn the heat to medium.
- When most of the water has evaporated, there will be no more water bubbles, then turn the heat down to low
- Place the contents of the zipper bag (riblets) on top of the rice. Slowly drizzle 2 tbsp of oil on the inner side of the pot so that the oil can trickle down the sides and make the rice on the bottom crispy
- Cover with the lid and time it for 5 minutes
- When 5 minutes is up, put on oven mits, hold the clay pot at an angle so that the heat is directed on the front side of the pot. Count 45 seconds
- Repeat step 9 for the other 3 sides (back, left and right)
- Put the pot back on the stove in normal position and leave it for another 5 minutes
- Once the 5 minutes is up, turn the heat to high for 1 minute and then turn off heat and leave it for 10 minutes. During the cooking time, it’s important to not open the lid. The temperature and timing will be off if you open it
- Once the 10 minutes is up, check to see if the rice and meat are cooked. If it’s still raw, you can cover the lid and turn the heat up to high for 90 seconds, turn off heat and wait 5 minutes and check again
- When it has all cooked, add cilantro and green onions and pour 2 tbsp of the sweet soy sauce on top
- Serve
Notes
| Time | Heat Level | Specifics |
| Approx 5 min | High | Lid closed; until water boils |
| Approx 2 min | Medium | Lid open; until water evaporates |
| 5 min | Low | Add toppings. Drizzle oil to the inner side of the pot. Lid closed; heat bottom of pot |
| 45 seconds | Low | Lid closed; heat front side of pot |
| 45 seconds | Low | Lid closed; heat back side of pot |
| 45 seconds | Low | Lid closed; heat left side of pot |
| 45 seconds | Low | Lid closed; heat right side of pot |
| 5 minutes | Low | Lid closed; heat bottom of pot |
| 1 minute | High | Lid closed; heat bottom of pot |
| 10 minutes | Off | Lid closed |
We are not in Hong Kong but am frequently homesick for all the food. I made this claypot rice today and it made me cry happy tears. Thank you, so delicious!
Hi Bonnie, OMG...that looks so good!!! Although I've never lived in Hong Kong, I go quite frequently (pre-pandemic). I also miss all the good food! I have lots of Hong Kong style recipes on my site and I'm constantly working on more. This is probably my first time being happy to hear of someone crying 😉 Thank you for trying my recipe and taking the time to write such a nice comment! Happy cooking!
Hi. Question, if you use pork shoulder, do you still need to brine the meat with vinegar and salt for 30mins? Thank you. Will it make the meat mushy?
Hi Ana, if you use pork shoulder, I wouldn't brine the meat as I like to keep some elasticity in the texture of pork shoulder. The purpose of the brine is really only to have the meat fall off the bone of the riblets. However, I don't think doing it would make the meat mushy since its only going in the brine for 30 minutes. It would more likely make the meat less elastic. You could do it if you want the meat to be easily pulled apart like pulled pork. Hope this helps. Happy cooking!
hi .im a domestic helper here in hongkong , i always steam pork ribs alone not with the rice,i came across your recioe while googling chinese recipes so here it is its yummy and the bottom is crispy ,love it!thankyou for sharing.
Hi Sheryl, sorry for the late reply! Everything in your photo looks perfect, even the soy sauce looks yummy! You have very lucky employers!