6eggs, lesser if you are not planning to serve the entire pot today
2firm tofu (tau kwa)
Leafy vegetables, blanched until soft
Fresh coriander leaves and chopped spring onion, as garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Soak Shiitake: Rinse the mushrooms. Place them 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.
Prep the Ingredients
Rehydrated Shiitake: Squeeze out excess water. Reserve the water for cooking. Remove and discard mushroom stems. Dice the mushrooms into 1-cm cubes.
Fresh Shiitake: Brush off the dirt (give the mushrooms a quick rinse). Remove and discard mushroom stems. Dice mushrooms into 1.5-cm cubes. Note: They are cut bigger as they will shrink as they cook.
Pork Belly: It is optional whether you want to remove or keep the skin. Cut the pork belly into 1-cm thick lengths, then cut half into 1-cm pieces and half into 0.5-cm pieces. Note: I like this mix as I like varying textures in my lu rou fan.
Shallot: Peel and thinly slice the shallots into 2-mm thick slices. Note: I used large red onions and used a mandolin slicer
Carrot: Peel and dice carrot into 1-cm cubes. Note: Optional but I want to incorporate more vegetables into my diet.
Spice: Place the spices in a disposable teabag or wrap them up with a small piece of cheesecloth. This will allow easy removal of the spices after cooking.
Make Shallot Oil
Add oil and shallots into Instant Pot insert. Set a sieve over an empty bowl to catch the fried shallots and shallot oil.
200 grams shallot, 125 ml canola oil / vegetable oil
Set Instant Pot to "Sauté - Normal" mode. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallots start to turn golden in colour. Strain the shallots into the sieve. Shallot oil can be used for other dishes.
Note: Shallots continue to cook after removing them from oil, hence do not wait until the shallots have turn golden to remove them as they will likely burn.
Cook
Set Instant Pot to "Sauté - Low" mode. Add 1 tablespoon shallot oil and add in rock sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar has melted and starts to caramelise.
2 tablespoons rock sugar
Set Instant Pot to "Sauté - High" mode. Add in pork belly and stir to coat. Once almost all of the pork belly has turned grey, stir in the shiitake, carrot and garlic.
80 ml Shaoxing wine, 60 ml dark soy sauce, 30 ml light soy sauce, 30 ml oyster sauce, 15 ml sesame oil, 1 teaspoon five spice powder
Strain in the reserved mushroom water (or just add hot water). The amount of liquid need not cover the ingredients as the water will not evaporate much in a pressure cooker as compared to cooking this on stove top. The water level only needs to reach about 1 to 1.5cm below the ingredient level.
Pressure Cook: Set the pressure cooker lid in place. Set Instant Pot to "Pressure Cook" on high pressure for 25 minutes. Once done, carefully quick release the pressure. Discard the Spice packet.
Note: If cooking ahead of time, set Instant Pot to "Pressure Cook" on high pressure for 20 minutes, then allow natural release of pressure.
Make Hard Boiled Eggs
Place eggs (cold from the refrigerator) in a pot and fully submerge them in water. Place pot on high heat and allow water to come to a boil. Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook the eggs for 10 minutes.
6 eggs
Immediately transfer the eggs into a bowl of ice water. Peel the eggs.
Portion (if necessary) and Braise the Eggs and Tofu
Once the pressure in the pressure cooker has been released, taste and adjust seasoning. It should taste a little bit saltier than normal to balance the plain rice.
At this point - portion whatever that you are not planning to eat today into containers. Chill or freeze the portions.
Set Instant Pot to "Sauté - Low" mode. Add eggs and firm tofu and simmer for 10 minutes, until the eggs are coloured and tofu is heated through.
At this point - turn off the heat to allow the eggs and tofu to steep in the sauce until ready to serve - the longer they steep in the braising liquid, the darker the colour.
Ready to Serve
When ready to serve, set Instant Pot to "Sauté - High" mode to bring everything to a simmer. Scoop out the egg and tofu - halve the egg and slice the tofu as needed. Scoop the braised pork mixture over steamed white rice and serve with egg, tofu, blanched leafy vegetables. Garnish with coriander and spring onions and dig in.
Leafy vegetables, Fresh coriander leaves and chopped spring onion
NOTES
Instead of making fried shallots from scratch, you can substitute with store-bought fried shallots instead. Use 1/2 the amount of dried shallots. (e.g. 200 grams fresh shallots = 100 grams fried shallot)
It is not recommended to freeze the braised eggs and tofu as their texture will change when thawed. a) Braise the eggs and tofu on the day that you are serving them; b) omit the eggs and tofu; or c) serve with sunny-side egg and pan-fried tofu instead .