Pao Fan: A Zero-Waste, Fast Meal by: Kaitlin 1 Comments Jump to Recipe Posted:4/08/2021Updated:4/04/2021 Pao fan is a trick we’ve relied on many times over the years to get a fast meal on the table in minutes.  You just gather up a few salty side dishes and some cold leftovers out of the fridge, and you’re ready to enjoy an effortless breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Also, nothing goes to waste! What is pao fan?  Pao fan is a simple porridge of leftover rice and water.It’s a great way to reheat and stretch cooked, leftover rice.  It’s popular with Shanghainese families in particular (our Cantonese grandparents had only heard of it from Shanghainese friends, before my dad roped my mom, a Shanghainese girl, into getting hitched).  Pao fan is not to be confused with congee, which is raw rice simmered in stock.(Check out our 20-minute Congee recipe!)  In Chaozhou, there is a Teowchew porridge recipe that cooks rice from a raw state until the individual grains are just cooked.  In texture, it’s closer to pao fan than Cantonese-style congee, but it’s ultimately different from both in that it usually entails a richer broth and more add-ins like seafood to make a flavorful soup.  A Zero Waste Recipe  Pao fan is a great way to use up old leftovers, so that nothing goes to waste—not the hard, cold rice you forgot in the back of the fridge, or the motley assortment of leftovers you have at the end of the week.  Also, maybe y

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