Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice) That Won Over a Taiwanese Friend

This recipe is made with Dish Symphony No.3.

Meltingly tender pork in a sweet-savoury braise, with star anise running through it. This is a recipe for making lu rou fan (Taiwanese braised pork rice), a staple of the Taiwanese table, beautifully at home.

I have always loved lu rou fan, and used to grind my own wu xiang fen (Chinese five-spice powder), the classic Chinese blend, to make it.

This recipe uses Dish 3 rather than five-spice powder. Dish 3 is built around star anise, Sichuan pepper, fennel, clove and cinnamon, the base spices of five-spice powder, so you could call it an original five-spice: the traditional blend read afresh and rebalanced in Inspice's own way.

And the “lu rou fan” you make with Dish 3 is, quite simply, superb.

I once served it to a Taiwanese friend for whom lu rou fan is soul food, and was told it was the best they had eaten anywhere in Japan. It is a recipe I am quietly proud of.

Enjoy the oriental aroma rising from the pot while you cook.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• Dish 3: 2 tsp (use this as a base and add more to taste)
• Pork belly (block): 300~400g
• Dried shiitake mushrooms: 6~8
• Boiled eggs: 4 (adjust to the number of people eating)
• Fried onions (shop-bought): 10g
• Cooking alcohol (shaoxing wine if you can): 200ml
• Sugar (kibi-zato, unrefined cane sugar, is recommended): 3 tbsp
• Soy sauce: 3 tbsp
• Oyster sauce: 1 tbsp
• Takuan (pickled daikon): as much as you like, as a topping
• Takana (pickled mustard greens): as much as you like, as a topping
• Water: 350ml
• Oil: 1 tbsp (white sesame oil is our recommendation here)

Preparation

• Season the block of pork belly with salt and pepper and cut it into strips about 2cm wide.
  
  
  
• Put the dried shiitake mushrooms into a heatproof container with 350ml of water, heat in the microwave at 600W for 2 minutes 30 seconds to rehydrate them, then cut into pieces about 1cm square.
  Keep the soaking water: it is full of shiitake flavour and goes into the pot later.
  (Rehydrating in the microwave is quicker than soaking.)
  
  
  
• Prepare the boiled eggs.
  
  

Tips for the best result A pressure cooker, or a heavy pot such as a Dutch oven, is by far the best choice. For the alcohol, use shaoxing wine if you possibly can, as it is what is used in Taiwan. The finished flavour is quite different. It is easy to find in supermarkets. Too high a heat toughens the meat, so keep it at medium or lower.

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the pot and fry the pork.
   
   
   
2. When the pork has changed colour, add the rehydrated and chopped dried shiitake and the fried onions, and fry together.
   
   
   
3. Add the seasonings below and stir everything together.
   

   Cooking alcohol (shaoxing wine if you can): 200ml Sugar (kibi-zato, unrefined cane sugar, is recommended): 3 tbsp Soy sauce: 3 tbsp Oyster sauce: 1 tbsp The shiitake soaking water

   
   
   
4. Add 2 tsp of Dish 3, stir it through, then put the lid on and simmer for 40 minutes over low heat.
   
   
   
5. Add the boiled eggs and simmer for a further 10 minutes over low heat, this time without the lid.
   
   
   
6. Once the liquid has reduced to a thick, glossy sauce, taste it and adjust the seasoning with soy sauce if it tastes weak.
   
   
7. Spoon the braised pork over a bowl of rice, top with takuan, takana and a boiled egg, and serve.

How we like to eat it Break up the egg and mix everything in the bowl together thoroughly before eating.