Steamed Rice and Chicken

For 4 ceramic or bone china rice bowls: 

• 80g (2¾oz) rice per bowl
• 100ml (3½f oz/⅓ cup) water per bowl
• a pinch of sugar per bowl
• a pinch of salt per bowl
• ¼ teaspoon vegetable oil per bowl
• chiu chow chilli oil, to serve
• soy sauce, to serve
• the chicken wings & wind-dried chinese meats
• 1 chinese sausage
• 8 whole chicken wings
• 2 salted eggs (available in chinesesupermarkets)

The marinade: 

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon fermented black beans
• ¼teaspoon salt
• ½teaspoon white pepper
• ¼teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon pure sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon cornfour (cornstarch

Wash the rice at least 3 or 4 times to get rid of any excess starch. Divide it evenly between 4 small rice bowls and add the stated amount of water to each bowl. Add the sugar, salt and vegetable oil and mix well.

Finely chop the garlic and wash the black beans in cold water. Lightly crush the garlic and black beans together, using either a pestle and mortar or the back of a spoon in a small bowl.

Finely slice the chinese sausage on an angle, chop the chicken wings into halves or thirds, using a sharp cleaver, and place both in a mixing bowl.

Add the black bean mixture and the rest of the marinade ingredients and mix well. Place 4 pieces of chicken on top of each bowl of rice, along with 6–8 pieces of chinese sausage.

The rice pots are now ready to be steamed

Fill a wok with boiling water to come at least one-third to halfway up the sides. Put the rice pots into a steam basket and add the salted eggs to the basket whole, without peeling or cracking the shells.

Place the steam basket directly on top of the wok, covered with a deep-domed wok lid, and steam on a high heat for 30 minutes, resisting the temptation to open the lid at all during this time.  To serve, slice each salted egg in half and place one half on top of each rice pot. Serve with some chiu chow chilli oil and soy sauce on the side.