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Make Angela Hui's bo zai fan with lap cheong and lap yuk, then try Chinese drunken chicken, Chinese steamed fish, or Chinese pan-fried soup dumpling bao.

If you want the classic crispy, crunchy rice base, then I’d recommend cooking in a clay pot directly on the hob or an open flame for the best results. If you’re short on time, like my mother was on most days, then let a rice cooker do all the work for you, as it’s an ideal ‘leave-and-forget-about-it’ dish. Seeing plumes of steam rise and escape from the pot and breathing in the intoxicating smell of the aromatic, fatty cured meats mixed with the fragrant rice always makes me giddy with anticipation. Sometimes mum would let me be in charge of the rice paddle and gave me the most important (and fun) task of mixing everything. It’s an exciting interactive dish to do with kids, where they can see the white rice turn a lovely golden colour as each grain is coated in the sauce. Dried sausage and ham are available from poons-pantry.com.


Bo zai fan recipe

  • 400g jasmine rice
  • 2-3 links of lap cheong (Chinese dried sausage)
  • 7.5cm piece of lap yuk (Chinese wind-dried bacon)
  • 2 spring onions
    diced

For the sauce

  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp shaoxing wine
  • ¼ tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp white pepper

Nutrition:

  • kcal653
  • fat22.5g
  • saturates8.2g
  • carbs95.3g
  • sugars6.6g
  • fibre0.1g
  • protein17.3g
  • salt2.1g

Method

  • step 1

    Start by washing the rice. Put the rice into a bowl, add enough water to cover, then use your hand to agitate the rice and swirl the grains. You’ll see the water go cloudy – discard the cloudy water, fill it up with clean water and repeat at least three times until the water runs clear. Add 500ml of water and soak the rice for 30 mins. It’s important not to miss the soaking step as this helps the rice cook through evenly.

  • step 2

    Next, mix all the sauce ingredients together.

  • step 3

    You can either make this dish in a clay pot or a rice cooker. In a rice cooker, put the meat on top of the washed, uncooked rice, press the button and cook. By cooking the meat and rice together, the fat from the meat seeps into the rice.

  • step 4

    For those using a pan or clay pot, bring the rice to a boil on high heat and cover with a lid. Once bubbling, turn the flame down to the lowest setting and cook for 12 mins. Switch off the heat and let the rice stand for 1 min with the lid still on. Once steamed, take out the meat and slice it.

  • step 5

    Fluff the rice, return the meat to the rice along with the sauce, spring onions and an extra drizzle of sesame oil. Have fun stirring the rice and make a glorious mess together. Serve with greens or pak choi, or eat as it is.

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