This is a traditional Shanghai rice recipe, and it can be a healthy, flavorful foundation to pair with any meal. If you have been serving Chinese food with plain white rice, this is something new for you to try.

INGREDIENTS

• 300g / 1.5 cups of jasmine rice (Amazon Link - https://geni.us/jasmine-rice)
• 480g / 2 cups of water
• 227g / 0.5 lb of boy choy or choy sum, diced
• 113g / 4 oz of Jinhua ham or bacon, diced
• 1.5 tbsp of minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp of salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper or to taste

Replacement Tips: Jinhua ham is a special cured meat from Jin Hua, Zhe Jiang province. It was listed as a tribute from Song Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. You can use Italian Prosciutto as a replacement because they taste similar. I also tried bacon, and it turned out delicious. Pork lard can be replaced with your preferred cooking oil.

INSTRUCTIONS

Finely dice the vegetable and separate the stem and the leaves because they take a different amount of time to cook. You can use any green leafy vegetables with a crunchy stem to give the rice a nice texture, such as baby bok choy, Chinese broccoli, and choy sum.

Finely dice the Jinhua ham.

Wash the rice several times to remove the impurities and excess starch. Drain it thoroughly so you don’t mess up the water ratio.

Add the rice and water to a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. This only takes just a few minutes. Don’t go away because if you forget the time, it will overflow.

Once the rice is simmering, put on the lid and continue to cook the rice over low heat for another 18 minutes.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add the pork lark and Jinhua ham and saute for 2 minutes. If using bacon as a replacement, please skip the pork lard, as you will get lots of fat.

Add minced garlic and the diced choy sum stem. Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the choy sum leaves and continue to stir until the volume decreases.

Season it with some salt and black pepper to taste. Every brand of ham has different sodium levels; please taste to adjust the saltiness. Thoroughly combine the rice with the vegetable and ham.