Shanghainese Rice Roll (Ci Fan 粢饭)

The perfect breakfast to make ahead and eat on the go. These savory rice rolls are packed with a delicious filling that will fuel you through the day! ☀️💜

Ci fan (粢饭) was one of our favorite breakfasts to have growing up, our mom would buy a few from a place near our house and we'd reheat them for breakfast before school. I found it funny when sushi or rice burritos became popular at fushion/westernized Asian restaurants since they sort of resembled ci fan. Most ci fan are filled with Chinese tea egg, pork floss, preserved vegetables, and Chinese fried dough.

These are simple to make, but you do need some time to prep all the ingredients so make sure you make this in advance to enjoy the next morning. The perfect breakfast to meal prep and have ready to grab and go during the week!

what is in our vegan ci fan (粢饭)?

Vegan Egg

To substitute the Chinese tea egg, we put strips of cooked JUST EGG. You can also put marinated and cooked tofu instead.

Vegan Pork Floss

In our local Chinese supermarket, they sell vegan pork floss made from soy, so we swapped that for the pork floss. The brand we use is Hsin Tung Yang, but if you don't have access to vegan pork floss you can substitute it with fried garlic/shallots or crushed peanuts.

Preserved Vegetables

These can easily be found at your local Asian supermarket. They're found in small pouches and labeled as pickled radish or cabbage.

Chinese Fried Dough (Youtiao - 油条)

We like to get these from a local restaurant and reheat them and add them into our rice rolls. But you can also make these at home or buy them frozen at the Asian supermarket.

Sticky Rice

The most important part! Traditionally ci fan is made with white sticky rice, however, we like to use a mix of purple and white sticky rice since it adds a nice pop of color and the purple rice has more texture than white sticky rice.

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Serving Size: 2 People

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 3 hrs to cook rice

Total Time: 3hrs + 15 mins

Description:

The perfect breakfast to make ahead and eat on the go. These savory rice rolls are packed with a delicious filling that will fuel you through the day! ☀️💜

Ingredients:

1 cups of purple sticky/glutinous rice

1 cup white sticky/glutinous rice

1/2 cup JUST Egg

2 you tiao (油条)

1/3 cup vegan pork floss

1/3 cup preserved vegetables

Instructions:

1. Soak the sticky rice overnight.

2. Cook the rice in a rice cooker OR line a bamboo basket with parchment paper or a wet coffee liner, evenly distribute the sticky rice, and steam for 2-3 hrs or until cooked.

3. While the rice is cooked, prepare your filling. Heat up the Youtiao (油条) and cook your JUST egg, we recommend cooking the JUST egg as one large sheet and then rolling it up, and rinse the preserved vegetables.

4. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on a flat surface or sushi rolling mat if you have one. Add half your rice and spread it into a thin layer in the shape of a square. Wet your hands to prevent the rice from sticking to you. Add 1 piece of Youtiao (油条) and then one strip of your JUST egg. Add a few teaspoons of vegan pork floss and preserved vegetables. Pack everything close together.

5. Roll up the filling in the sheet of rice and press the edges together to prevent any filling from falling out of the sides. Mold the rice until you get a log shape without any gaps. (Look at the video above for more guidance)

6. Cut in half to share with someone or enjoy the whole thing to yourself with a glass of soymilk!