if you’re looking for a way to sneak more fiber in your meals, try this Shanghai-inspired Salted Meat and Bok Choy Rice, or Cai fan 菜飯. With crisp veggies, savory bits of cured meat, and fragrant, glossy rice in every bite, this dish is definitely a nostalgic comfort food. Enjoy this rice on its own, or paired with a saucy, savory protein dish. This veggie-packed rice will be one of the easiest and yummiest way to get extra fibre into your diet!

Shanghaniese Cai Fan or Vegetable Rice Served on a plate

Shanghainese Cai Fan

Shanghainese Vegetable Rice 菜飯
Cai Fan Ingredients
- Bok Choy
- Salted Meat
What To Eat with Shanghai Cai Fan
How To Make Salted Meat Bok Choy Rice

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Shanghainese Vegetable Rice 菜飯

This Salted Meat and Bok Choy Rice recipe is inspired by one of the my favorite Shanghainese dish, Cai Fan 菜飯, which directly translates to vegetable rice. Think fluffy rice, cooked with salty cured meat, with garlicky veggie mixed in. This rice is a classic Shanghainese home-cooking comfort food, especially during the winter season when it gets colder. Traditionally, this is when the bok choy is harvested, and when families start making salted meat.

The beauty of this veggie rice is how you can enjoy it as a meal on its own, or as an amazing side dish that not only tastes good, but also incorporate so much veggie into your diet! This version uses ingredients that are a little bit easier to find in supermarkets, like Chinese sausages, bok choy, or spinach, but still has that nostalgic comforting flavor!

Cai Fan Ingredients

4-5 cups bok choy or any leafy greens, chopped + washed
2 cups uncooked rice rinsed
2 cups water
1/4 cup salted meat diced (Chinese sausage, salted cured pork, pancetta, or bacon)
1 tbsp oil for stir-frying the greens
2 cloves garlic minced
Salt to taste

Bok Choy

Vegetable rice is called that because of how much veggie is actually in each bite. The slight crunch and sweetness of the finely chopped veggies is what makes the rice so enjoyable! Traditionally, this dish is cooked with Shanghainese Bok Choy or Mustard Greens 芥菜. In some areas like Ningpo and Zhejiang they also make a slightly different version with Salted Snow Vegetable 雪菜.

Today, we are cooking this rice with a whole bowl of bok choy but you can also use other leafy greens like spinach and kale! Bok Choy is not only packed with fiber, it’s also high in Vitamin A, C and K, which is great for your bones and skin. Before adding it into our rice, we cook it separately to let some of its high water content evaporate off. This extra step keeps the rice and veggies from getting mushy.

Salted Meat

The Vegetable Rice gets most of its umami and salty flavor from savory cured meats,The most authentic recipe uses traditional Salted-Cured Pork 鹹肉 or Jin Hua Dry-Cured Ham 金華火腿. However those options can be a little difficult to find in supermarkets in the US or Canada. Today, I’m using Chinese Sausages as my “salted meat”. If you can’t find those options, you can also try pancetta or bacon.

To give it that iconic glossiness on the rice, the salted meat is chopped up and fat is first rendered out in the pot. Then add in the rice to coat it all over with the rendered fat, then cooked together to fuse all the flavors together. The result is a fragrant, glossy pot of rice dotted with salted meat, ready to mix with your veggies.

What To Eat with Shanghai Cai Fan

The classic home-cooked meal with Shanghai Cai Fan includes something like a saucy meat, and a brothy soup. Today, I’m pairing it with a delicious Air Fryer Chashu BBQ Pork. Here’s a couple other dishes I’d make for a full meal:

How To Make Salted Meat Bok Choy Rice

Render the meat: In a pot, pan-fry the diced salted meat over medium heat until fragrant and the fat renders out (about 2–3 minutes).
Toss the rice: Add the rinsed rice and stir to coat in the rendered oil.
Cook the rice: Pour in 2 cups water. Once it reaches a gentle simmer, turn heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 10 minutes.
Steam off heat: Turn the heat off but keep the lid on for 15 minutes (don’t peek).
Stir-fry the greens: While the rice cooks/steams, heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or pan over medium heat. Add bok choy and stir-fry just until wilted. Add garlic, toss for 30 seconds, then season lightly with salt.
Mix + steam again: Fluff the rice. Add the cooked bok choy without pouring in any liquid. Gently mix, then smooth the top, cover, and let it let it steam 5 minutes with the heat off..
Serve: Scoop into bowls and enjoy hot.