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1
Wash the rice under cold running water until the water runs clear. Cover with cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain. The grains will appear slightly opaque and will have swelled perceptibly.
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2
Divide the soaked, drained rice evenly between four unglazed clay pots. Add water in a 1:1.3 ratio (rice to water). Set each pot over medium heat, uncovered, and bring to a boil — approximately 5 minutes. The surface of the water will agitate and small starch bubbles will form at the rim.
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3
Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Lay the chicken pieces and sliced lap cheong across the surface of the partially cooked rice. Fit the lid tightly. Cook for a further 10 minutes. At this stage, steam should be escaping in a thin, steady thread from the lid — not billowing, not absent.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. In the final 2 to 3 minutes, increase the heat to medium. This brief elevation of temperature drives off the last surface moisture and sets the crust at the base of the pot. The correct crust forms when a faint toasted rice fragrance rises — nutty and dry, not acrid. Remove from the heat the moment any sharper, scorched note enters the smell.
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5
Mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Remove the lids at the table and drizzle the sauce evenly over the surface of each pot. Scrape the guo ba (锅巴) from the base of the pot with a spoon — it should release in amber, rigid shards that offer a firm resistance before yielding.