Cai Fan (菜饭) – Rice with greens and Chinese sausage

I have memories of my mom making this in our old house in our trusty rice cooker, usually during the winter. She would tell me things like “winter bok choy is the tastiest” and “Canadian sausage is the best”. While I didn’t manage to find Chinese sausage that was made in Canada, bok choy sure is tasty 🙂

Of course, like my mama, you can also make this in a rice cooker (I am a fail asian and don’t own one). In a rice cooker, cook the rice half way, mix in the ingredients below, and then allow it to finish cooking with an additional 10 minutes of cooking time at the end.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups bok choy leaves, roughly chopped into inch-thick pieces (hearts removed)
• 2 cups medium grain white rice
• 2 1/2 Chinese sausage, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1/4 uncured ham, cut into small cubes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups water

Directions:

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot.
2. Add in rice and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. Then, mix in the vegetables, sausage, ham, and salt.
4. Cover and let it continue to simmer for 20 minutes, giving it a stir halfway through. Season with more salt to taste.
5. Turn off heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes.