A simple rice cooker clay pot-style rice made with pancetta, Shanghai bok choy, and fluffy rice. The pancetta adds savory aroma and just enough fat to flavor the rice without making it too heavy.

Cài fàn — literally “vegetable rice” — is one of the most beloved home dishes in Shanghai: rice cooked together with leafy greens and cured pork, traditionally salted pork (xiànròu) or Chinese sausage. It began as economical peasant cooking, a way to stretch a small amount of meat across a whole pot of rice, and it remains the taste of an ordinary, comforting weeknight dinner.

The traditional version is cooked in a clay pot or a heavy iron pot over the stove. This version moves it to the rice cooker, which handles the timing reliably and still produces distinct, glossy grains — with an optional stovetop finish for the crispy bottom crust that pot-cooked rice lovers refuse to give up.

Two substitutions keep the spirit of the dish while making it easy to shop for: pancetta stands in for Chinese cured pork, bringing the same gentle saltiness and clean pork fat, and Shanghai bok choy provides the tender stems and deep green leaves the dish is named for.

💡 Tips

If you’re unsure about seasoning, mix everything together first, taste, and adjust with more salt at the end. The crispy bottom step is optional but highly recommended — it adds a wonderful texture contrast.

Why Use Slightly Less Water Than Usual?

Bok choy is mostly water, and it releases a good deal of it as it cooks. If you use your normal rice-to-water ratio, that extra moisture turns the finished rice soft and wet. Starting with slightly less water — and using ice water, which lets the grains hydrate gradually and evenly as the cooker heats up — keeps each grain separate, distinct, and just glossy with pork fat rather than soggy.

Why Add the Bok Choy in the Last Few Minutes?

Green leaves are fragile. Cooked too long in the steamy rice cooker, their chlorophyll breaks down and they turn an unappetizing olive-yellow, while their texture collapses completely. Stems and leaves are also cooked separately first — the stems need a head start, the leaves only a moment. Folding everything in near the end keeps the greens vivid, sweet, and still slightly toothsome against the soft rice.

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• 1 pack pancetta
• 1 pack Shanghai bok choy
• Water, slightly less than your usual rice-cooking amount
• A small amount of oil or lard
• Salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear. Soak for about 30 minutes, then drain well. Add to a rice cooker with slightly less water than usual — the bok choy will release moisture as it cooks. For better texture, use ice water.
2. Briefly stir-fry the pancetta until fragrant and some fat has rendered out. Add the pancetta along with the rendered fat directly into the rice cooker. Start cooking the rice.
3. When the rice has about 10 minutes left, wash the bok choy and separate the stems from the leaves. Heat a small amount of oil (lard works especially well) in a pan. Stir-fry the stems first, then add the leaves once the stems begin to soften. Season with salt — a little more generously than usual, since the pancetta is mild.
4. When the rice has 3–5 minutes left, add the cooked bok choy to the rice cooker and gently mix. Do not add it too early or the leaves may turn yellow.
5. Optional: after the rice cooker finishes, transfer the rice to a flat-bottomed pan. Spray or brush with a little oil and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until the bottom is lightly crispy. Serve warm.

Flavor Profile

Savory pork, sweet greens, and rice that tastes seasoned all the way through.

Because the grains cook in the pancetta’s rendered fat, every mouthful is gently rich and aromatic rather than plain. The bok choy brings a clean, almost sweet greenness that keeps the dish from feeling heavy, and the optional crispy bottom adds a toasty crunch against the fluffy rice.

Serving Suggestions

Cai fan is a complete one-pot meal on its own. For a fuller table, pair it with a light, clear soup or a small dish of pickles — anything more strongly flavored would compete with its quiet, homey character.