卤肉饭 Braised pork rice bowl

If you haven’t tried Lu rou fan卤肉饭, AKA Chinese braised pork over rice, you should definitely try it. It is a type of comfort food especially popular in Taiwan. The pork belly is braised until super tender and the pork fat just melts in your mouth. The sauce is rich and flavorful, and it goes perfectly with rice. Trust me, this easy to make, 5 step braised pork rice bowl is really dangerously scrumptious!

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 250g pork belly
• 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 2-3 scallions white parts only
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 20g fried red onion
• 1-2 tbs each light soy sauce, cooking wine
• 1 tbs dark soy sauce
• 1-2tsb each sugar, five spice
• 3-4 hard boiled eggs
• salt, pepper to taste

Instructions:

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1: Prep: reconstitute shiitake mushrooms in about 250 ml water. Peel hard boiled eggs.
Heat little oil in a non stick pan, add sliced pork belly, saute until pork fat is rendered and pork belly turns lightly golden. Add minced garlic, chopped white of scallion, saute until they’re fragrant. 
2: Add fried red onions and chopped shiitake mushrooms (drained), saute 1-2 min.
3: Add mushroom soaking water, cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, five spice to the pork, bring liquid to boil and remove from heat.

4: Transfer everything to a saucepan, add peeled boiled eggs. Pour in water to cover everything by 1-2 cm. Bring to boil then switch to low heat, simmer, stir occasionally.
5: Simmer 1-1.5 hours. You can taste it and add salt and pepper if desire. The sauce should appear thick, but do not reduce the sauce completely!

Chinese braised pork is normally served with rice and some boiled bok choy, but you can be creative. Garnishing with chopped scallion and more fried red onion will elevate the presentation.

Eat warm! Yes pork belly may not be a good protein, but it’s so satisfying. The meat part is flavorful and tender, the fat melts in your mouth…This braised pork over rice is simply soul food…