Sar Po Fan 沙煲飯 Crab Claypot Rice

Who could resist a divine simple dish as claypot rice? I remember 32 years ago, when I stayed in Singapore for about a month with my dad, I just loved claypot rice and back then I knew this dish as sa po fan. Now I find that this dish is so easy to make, I don't understand why people in Singapore queue up and wait for an hour to eat this dish -make it on your own you lazy people! (yes I am just kidding). I noticed that in Hong Kong "sar po fan" is called "po chai fan" and the Chinese character is also different from the one in Singapore -煲仔飯. From semantic point of view, I really wonder what the difference is...

I've always wanted to taste crab claypot rice (or even fish head claypot rice) so I made it for staff meal. Jasmine rice was used and crabs, salted fish, larp cheong (chinese sausage), dried mushrooms and kani-miso (crab innards puree) for that sinful richness. Boy, when I opened the claypot lid, the sweet crab aroma filled the entire kitchen mmmmm....I am sure you could imagine that... and crab must be happy too. Sprinkled with deep fried shallots, scallions, cilantro, shredded ginger and drizzled some shallot oil and dark soy sauce.

３２年前シンガポールに夏、父と一ヶ月暮らしていた時、よくサーポーファン屋へ連れてってもらった。サーポーファンはシンガポールの土鍋ご飯。香港でも有名だが、香港ではポーチャイファンというそうだ。味は基本的に一緒だが、漢字は煲仔飯とシンガポールとは違う。ちなみに「瓦」はクレイ（粘土）の意味だという。さて、クレイポットライスだが、鶏のもも肉、腸詰、どんこ、ハムユイが入るのだが、今回まかないでカニのサーポーファンを作った。ぶっ飛ぶ程旨かった。これは海南鶏飯食堂の常連様にいつか出してあげたい一品だ。次回はフィッシュヘッドを使った鯛飯バージョンも作ってみよう。