Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Rice)
It's different from Japanese kakuni rice bowls! Taiwanese soul food with shallots and octagonal aromas
Description
Often misinterpreted in Japan as just a 'sweet soy pork bowl'. Authentic Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan uses finely hand-chopped pork belly slow-braised with massive amounts of fried shallots (You Cong Su), star anise, and Five-Spice into a melting gravy poured over rice.
Restaurants serving Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Rice)
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Skin-on Pork belly
- Shallots(Hong Cong Tou)
- Rock sugar
- Star anise
- Five-Spice
- Thick soy sauce(Jiang Gao)
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe & Differences]
- (Meat Cutting) Never use ground pork. Hand-chop skin-on pork belly into '5mm-1cm tiny cubes/strips'. This creates the signature melting texture.
- (Aroma Base) Fry 'shallots' (Hong Cong Tou) in oil until golden to create 'You Cong Su' (fried shallot crisps). This is the absolute soul of Taiwanese cooking.
- Render the pork fat in a wok, add rock sugar to caramelize.
- Add the fried shallots, soy sauce, wine, Taiwanese sweet thick soy sauce (Jiang Gao), star anise, Five-Spice, and white pepper.
- Add water and boiled eggs, braising on low for
- 5+ hours until the skin's gelatin melts into a thick gravy.
- Pour the meat and massive amounts of gravy directly over hot rice.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Overwhelming depth of fried shallots、Star anise aroma
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese Kakuni Don (but completely lacks the spice aroma)
Pairing
Taiwan Beer / Oolong Tea
Trivia
[Trivia] The name and cuts vary between Northern (Lu Rou Fan) and Southern (Rou Zao Fan) Taiwan. Japanese recipes substitute with onions, but achieving the authentic aroma absolutely requires 'Shallots (Hong Cong Tou)'.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Use a spoon to lightly mix the bowl so the braising liquid (Lu Zhi) coats every single grain of rice, then shovel it down. The accompanying 'sweet-sour pickled radish' or mustard greens provide the perfect accent.
Allergen
Pork, Wheat, Soybeans