AN ECONOMIC AND COMFORTING DISH TO PREPARE AT HOME
A bowl of steaming hot rice accompanied with melt-in-your-mouth braised pork and a hard-boiled egg, dripped generously rich and savory broth on top. This is the Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan, an all-in-one rice bowl dish, flavorful and satisfying.
What's the meaning of 'Lu Rou Fan'? Lu 卤 means braise; Rou 肉 means meat; Fan 饭 can be either a general term for meal, or specifically referring to riso bianco. Here it means the rice bowl. So “卤肉饭” three characters together means the rice-bowl with braised meat.
A HEAVENLY WAY TO ENJOY PORK BELLY
To make the Taiwanese style braIsed pork, we are using the pork belly cut. It would be perfect to have the skin on! After long time braising, the fat of the pork belly will melt into the broth, so as the gelatinous matter in the skin. At the end you will get a rich and flavorful broth. At the same time, the meat will be tender and juicy but not greasy at all.
Find out more recipe of pork belly on the blog: Crispy pork belly cooked in oven
It is true that this is not a low-calories dish, but I would not recommend replacing the pork belly with other lean meat. However, I also do not recommend using the pre-packed bacon slices, because they are cut too thin, and layers of fat is usually over dominating. Check with your local butcher or the meat counter in the supermarket for the pork belly in one piece, and you decide how to cut it later at home.
ANOTHER UN-REPLACEABLE INGREDIENT: FRIED SHALLOT
The ingredient to make a normal braised pork belly into “the Taiwanese style braised pork belly” is the fried shallot.
You can prepare it in advance and store it for later use. It can be kept for weeks without problem. The usage is versatile. Add a pinch into any stew or braise dish to add flavor; or sprinkle on a stir-fry dish for garnishment, etc. Check out how to prepare it in the recipe below.
The oil used for frying the shallot is not going to be wasted neither! The fragrance of the shallot remains in the oil, making it a great ingredient for dressing noodles (such as noodles with scallion oil), or for preparing chili oil.
You see? Even the by-products during the preparation of the Lu Rou Fan are extremely useful. That’s why I think this is an economic dish to make at home.
LU ROU FAN: TAIWANESE BRAISED PORK RICE BOWL (台式卤肉饭)
Course: SECOND COURSECuisine: Taiwanese, CineseDifficulty: Low3
persons30
minutes40
minutesA bowl of steaming hot rice accompanied with melt-in-your-mouth braised pork and a hard-boiled egg, dripped generously rich and savory broth on top. This is the Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan, an all-in-one rice bowl dish, flavorful and satisfying.
INGREDIENTS
Pork belly: 350g
Scallion: 1/2
Shallot (peeled): 110g
Garlic (peeled): 30g
Vegetable oil (such as sunflower, corn or peanut): a lot
Water: as much as needed
- Condiments + Spice
Light soy sauce: 7 tbsp
Dark soy sauce: 1 tbsp
Shaoxing wine (or white wine): 4 tbsp
Sugar: 1/2 tbsp (note 1)
Star anise: 1
Cinnamon: 1 piece
Bay leaf: 1
- Side dishes
Basmati/ Thai rice: portion for 2-3 persons
Eggs: 4
Green vegetables of your choice
Preparation
- Fried shallot
- Cut the shallot and garlic in thin slices.
- Heat up the wok with vegetable oil. When the oil is hot (don't wait too long otherwise the oil may burn the ingredients), add in the shallot and garlic.
- Fry them on low heat for 20 minutes. Tir from time to time to prevent the ingredients from burning.
- Take out the shallot and garlic from the oil and transfer them into a plate. Absorb the extra oil with kitchen paper and leave them to cool before conserve them in a food container. Add a piece of kitchen paper in the container to absorb the humidity.
- Wait until the oil to cool down completely then transfer it into a container. Keep it in the fridge and use it when needed.
- Braised pork
- Cut the pork belly into small pieces with 1.5-2cm thickness. Cut the scallion into big pieces.
- Heat up the wok with 2-3 tbsp shallot flavored oil. Add in the pork belly and stir-fry it on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. This is to extract some fat from the meat.
- Add in the scallion and keep stir-frying for 30-45 seconds.
- Add in all the ingredients listed in the group "Condiments + Spice" and 1 tbsp of fried shallot. Stir-fry them for 2 minutes.
- Peel the hard-boiled eggs (see the preparation in the "Side dishes" below). Add in the eggs in the wok. Adjust the positions to make sure the eggs are immersed in the broth. Add in some water if needed.
- Simmer with the lid on for 45 minutes.
- Side dishes
- 🥚 Hard-boiled eggs (note 2): cuoce le uova nell’acqua bollente per 8 minuti. (Se preferisci uovo con tuorlo morbido vedi la ricetta qui)
- 🍚 Steamed rice (nota 3): put 1.5 portion of water with 1 portion of rice in a pot. Cook it over medium heat with lid on for 10-15 minutes until all water is absorbed.
- 🥬 Scalded green vegetable (nota 3): put the washed vegetable in boiling water and cook for 30-60 seconds (depends on the vegetable chosen). Take it out once it becomes soft but do not over cook it.
- Assemble Lu Rou Fan
- Place the steamed rice in the center of a plate. Add the vegetable and a spoonful of braised pork next to it.
- Put a hard-boiled egg next to the meat.
- Drip extra broth on top of the rice. Sprinkle some fried shallots.
Video Recipe
NOTE
- 1. In the traditional recipe, it uses the Rock Sugar (冰糖).
- 2. The preparation can go at the same time with frying the shallots.
- 3. The preparation can go at the same time with the simmering of the pork belly.
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