Wāndòu fàn, pea and spring onion rice

• 30 minutes
• Prep 5 minutes
• Cook 25 minutes
• Serves 4

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

• Vegan
• Vegetarian
• Gluten free
• Dairy free

Ingredients

• 300g jasmine rice
• 200g frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 spring onions, whites and greens sliced and kept apart
• Half a teaspoon fine salt

Let's cook

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under the cold tap, rubbing it with your fingers, until the water runs almost clear. Drain well.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan with a tight lid on a medium heat. Add the spring onion whites and stir for 1 minute until soft and fragrant.
3. Add the frozen peas and stir for 1 minute, then add the rice and stir for 1 minute more so every grain is coated in the oil.
4. Pour in 450ml cold water and add the salt. Bring to the boil, then cover with the lid, turn the heat to its lowest and cook for 12 minutes without lifting the lid.
5. Turn the heat off and leave the pan covered for 10 minutes so the rice finishes in its own steam.
6. Fluff the rice gently with a fork, fold in the spring onion greens and serve hot.

Tips

• Cool any leftover rice quickly, spread out on a plate, and keep it in the fridge for 1 day at most. Reheat it only once, until steaming hot all the way through.
• A thin golden crust may form on the bottom of the pan. In Sichuan this is a treat: scrape it up and share it.

Swaps

• With pork, as many Sichuan homes cook it: fry 100g diced smoked bacon or Chinese cured pork (làròu) in the pan first, then carry on.
• Fresh peas in summer: use 200g podded fresh peas and add them with the rice.

Tags

• rice
• peas
• sichuan
• side

None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Rice, peas, spring onion, oil and salt contain none of them. If you add bacon or cured pork, check its label.

Check every packet for allergens.