Rice Meals · Hong Kong

How Many Calories in Claypot Rice (Bo Zai Fan)?

Also known as 煲仔飯, 臘味煲仔飯, Bo Zai Fan, Hong Kong Clay Pot Rice, Cured Meat Claypot Rice.

Bo zai fan is rice cooked in a small clay pot over charcoal until the bottom crisps, topped with lap cheong, cured pork belly or liver sausage and finished with sweet soy. The Temple Street stalls charge HK$60 to HK$95 a pot in winter.

1300kcal / 1 pot (cured meat claypot rice)
One pot of cured meat claypot rice (臘味煲仔飯) is about 1,300 calories, based on Hong Kong dietitian figures of 1,315 kcal. Chicken and mushroom is around 1,030, minced beef with egg 1,170, and the lightest common choice, frog with mushroom, is about 860. The cured meats, the oil in the pot and the sweet soy account for more than half of the total.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 pot (cured meat claypot rice) (600g)AmountPer 100g
Calories1300 kcal217 kcal
Protein40 g7 g
Carbs150 g25 g
Fat55 g9 g

Where the calories come from

Rice (cooked in pot)400g
520 kcal
Lap cheong (2 sausages)80g
385 kcal
Cured pork belly or liver sausage60g
250 kcal
Pot oil and sweet soy sauce35g
130 kcal
Choy sum25g
5 kcal

The real talk

The pot is oiled before the rice goes in so the crust releases, and that is 15 to 20g of oil sitting under the rice before any topping. Then the cured meats render. One lap cheong (40g) carries about 20g of fat by dietitian estimates, and a pot gets two sausages plus a slice of cured belly or liver sausage. All that fat drips straight into 400g of rice. You are eating rice that has been fried from underneath and from above, which is why a bowl-sized portion tops 1,300.

The ranking from the dietitians is useful. Cured meat 1,315. Chicken feet and spare rib 1,300. Minced beef with egg 1,167. Pork patty 1,108. Taro with preserved duck leg 1,074. Chicken and mushroom 1,026. White eel 912. Frog and mushroom 860. The gap between the top and bottom is 450 calories, which is a whole extra meal, from the same pot of rice. The cured stuff is worst because it is preserved in fat and sugar; frog and chicken are lean meat steamed on top.

The sweet soy is the part nobody counts. It is thick, sugary and salty, and the stall pours it on from a squeeze bottle. One tablespoon holds around 825mg of sodium by dietitian estimate, and most people use two or three. A pot can easily pass 2,500mg of sodium and 20g of added sugar. The crust at the bottom (飯焦) that everyone fights over is the most oil soaked rice in the pot, roughly 4 calories per gram versus 1.3 for plain steamed rice.

How the portions compare

650 kcal
Half pot, shared
1300 kcal
Standard cured meat pot (600g)
1600 kcal
Large pot with extra lap cheong and full sweet soy

Claypot Rice (Bo Zai Fan) variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Frog and mushroom (北菇田雞)860 kcalLightest common choice
White eel (白鱔)912 kcal
Chicken and mushroom (北菇滑雞)1026 kcal
Minced beef with egg (窩蛋牛肉)1167 kcal
Chicken feet and spare rib (鳳爪排骨)1300 kcal
Cured meat (臘味)1315 kcalHighest

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in a claypot rice?
About 1,300 calories for a cured meat pot, according to Hong Kong dietitians. Chicken and mushroom is around 1,030 and frog with mushroom about 860.
Why is claypot rice so high in calories?
The pot is oiled, the cured meats render 30g or more of fat into the rice, and the sweet soy adds sugar. One lap cheong alone has about 20g of fat.
Which claypot rice is the healthiest?
Frog and mushroom at about 860 calories, then white eel at 912. Both are lean meat steamed on top of the rice rather than cured meat rendering into it.

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See all Rice Meals calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical cha chaan teng, dai pai dong or dim sum serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Hong Kong dietitians via Cigna HK and HK01 (cured meat claypot rice 1,315 kcal; chicken and mushroom 1,026; frog and mushroom 860). Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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