Lu Rou Fan [Taiwanese Braised Pork with Rice / 滷肉饭]

Lu Rou Fan, which means “Braised Meat Rice” literally, is made by braising pork in soy sauce with other aromatics. This fatty and delicious mixture is spooned over a bowl of steaming hot rice and served with eggs and firm tofu.

Lu Rou Fan is one of my favourite dishes – so good that I always end up eating way more rice than usual so I can scoop a lot of these tasty meat mixture on top.

The Pork

The most important ingredient is definitely the meat. I think almost all Lu Rou Fan are made with pork – I’ve never seen or tried one that’s made with other kinds of meat. In different regions of Taiwan, different parts of pork are used. Some use pork belly, some use minced pork and I think some use a mix of both. I personally like to use pork belly because you get two textures in one bite – the meaty part and the fats which lend a melt-in-the-mouth texture that you won’t get with minced meat.

I use pork belly without the skin (aka rind) because the pork bellies we got here have tiny hairs stuck on it (so gross I know). So, to save myself the trouble from plucking out the hair, I always ask the butcher to get rid of the skin. If I’m cooking this in Singapore, I’ll just use one with skin.

(Yes, yes, yes – Lu Rou Fan is not the healthiest dish out there but we should always indulge once in a while, right?)

Secret Ingredient

The rest of the ingredients are common in an Asian pantry, but there is one secret ingredient that makes this dish so good – fried shallots. And I’ll be honest with you – I use ready-made fried shallots that I bought in Singapore. Of course it would be better to fry the shallots on your own at home (and you get a delicious shallot oil that you can use in anything, including this Shredded Chicken Hor Fun), but I’m just too lazy to do it. Maybe one day I will, maybe…

Lu Rou Fan is not difficult to make, just a little stir-frying then everything else is dumped in together into the pot and simmered away. It takes a bit of time because you want the meat to be so soft that it falls apart and melts away in the mouth! Hence, it is best to make a huge batch of Lu Rou Fan as it freezes beautifully. Just add in the egg and tofu when you heat it up again as dairy doesn’t freeze well.

And here are the step-by-step photos – if you made it, let me know how it goes!

Step-by-step Photos
1) Soak shiitake mushrooms in water overnight. Squeeze dry and slice them into cubes.	2) Rinse and dry pork belly thoroughly with paper towels. Cut into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes.
3) Get ready cinnamon, star anise, garlic and ginger. Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add in oil then add them in. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.	4) Add the pork belly into the pot. Cook until most of the pork belly cubes are no longer pink.
5) Add in everything else (except eggs, tofu, rice and coriander) and simmer for 1 hour.	6) Scoop out whatever you want to serve that day, then add in eggs and tofu to simmer for another 30 minutes. Let the rest cool and freeze into small portions!

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Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese Braised Pork with Rice 滷肉饭)

Lu Rou Fan, which literally means "Braised Meat Rice", is made by braising pork in soy sauce with other aromatics. This fatty and delicious mixture is usually spooned over a bowl of steaming hot rice and served with eggs and firm tofu. This recipe can serves 6 to 8 people.

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Soaking Time30 minutes mins

Total Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

0.511.523

INGREDIENTS

 

• ▢ 8 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms
• ▢ 800 grams pork belly, with or without skin
• ▢ 1 tablespoon oil
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• ▢ 2 inches ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
• ▢ 2 star anise
• ▢ 1 cinnamon stick
• ▢ 80 ml Shaoxing wine
• ▢ 60 ml dark soy sauce
• ▢ 30 ml light soy sauce, 15 ml = 1 tablespoon
• ▢ 30 ml oyster sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon five spice powder
• ▢ 2 tablespoons rock sugar
• ▢ 60 grams fried shallots
• ▢ 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
• ▢ 200 grams firm tofu, aka tau kwa, cut into 4 pieces
• ▢ Rice
• ▢ Fresh coriander, as garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place mushrooms in a bowl and pour boiling water over. Invert a bowl to submerge the mushrooms completely under water. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes or until soft. Squeeze dry and slice them into cubes. Top up the mushroom water with plain water or stock until you have 1 litre of liquid. Set aside.
  8 pieces dried shiitake mushrooms
• Rinse and dry pork belly thoroughly with paper towels. Cut into 3/4 to 1-inch cubes.
  800 grams pork belly
• Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add in oil then add in garlic, ginger, star anise and cinnamon stick. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  1 tablespoon oil, 4 cloves garlic, 2 inches ginger, 2 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick
• Add the pork belly into the pot. Cook until most of the pork belly cubes are no longer pink, then add in the 1 litre of mushroom-water-stock liquid, shiitake mushroom cubes, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, five spice powder, rock sugar and fried shallots. (Basically, everything except the hard-boiled eggs, firm tofu, rice and fresh coriander.)
  60 ml dark soy sauce, 80 ml Shaoxing wine, 30 ml light soy sauce, 30 ml oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon five spice powder, 2 tablespoons rock sugar, 60 grams fried shallots
• Cover and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally (every 10 to 15 minutes). During this time you can cook your hard-boiled eggs and peel them.
• Add in the hard-boiled eggs and firm tofu and simmer for another 30 minutes, stirring frequently (every 5 to 10 minutes), until the eggs and tofu are evenly coloured. You will need to stir more frequently as the sauce is drying up and the meat may get burnt at the bottom. Add in more water if the mixture looks dry.
  4 hard-boiled eggs, 200 grams firm tofu
• Scoop rice into rice bowls and place an egg and tofu on top. Scoop the meat mixture generously onto the rice. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately.
  Rice, Fresh coriander

NOTES

1. If you forgot to soak the shiitake mushrooms overnight, boil them with water in a pot for 15 minutes until soft. Let cool and proceed according to recipe.
2. I used store-bought fried shallots, but you can also make them from scratch at home if you have the time.
3. If you are making a huge batch to freeze, after 1 hour of simmering, scoop out whatever you are planning to serve that day and braise it together with the eggs and tofu. Let the rest cool and freeze in individual portions.
4. Eggs are not added at the start as the texture will become rubbery if boiled for too long.

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