How to Make: Clay Pot Rice with Chinese Sausage / Lap Xuong

One ingredient I’m unapologetically obsessed with is lạp xưởng—Chinese sausage. Hands down, it was one of my favorite things growing up. We always had a package of it at home. Whether it was fried up with rice, mixed into a quick stir-fry, or just sliced thin and pan-crisped to eat with plain white rice and soy sauce, lap xuong was a staple. Quick, salty, sweet, and packed with umami— and honestly, it just made everything better. Now, I can still remember the first time I had clay pot rice with Chinese sausage at the now-closed New Hong Kong Dim Sum restaurant in Seattle. The crispy bits of rice at the bottom, the smoky soy sauce drizzled on top, and that familiar, savory-sweet lap xuong flavor… I was instantly in love. That dish took everything I already adored and elevated it; this recipe is an homage to those memories. It recreates all those feelings of nostalgia and bliss in a dish that’s incredibly easy to make at home!

​​Hong Kong-style clay pot rice, or bo zai fan (煲仔饭), is all about simplicity and texture. Traditionally cooked over a flame in a clay pot, the rice at the bottom crisps up into a golden crust while the toppings—usually marinated meats, Chinese sausage, mushrooms, or greens—steam gently on top. A simple sauce of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar gets poured in at the end, seeping into the rice and giving it that signature glossy, umami-packed finish. The real magic? That crispy rice crust. It’s basically the rice equivalent of the crispy edges of brownies.