China · Taiwanese

Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice

Name: Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice
Prep time: 6 min
Cook time: 137 min
Total time: 143 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Taiwanese
Ingredients: shallots 25 g; skin-on pork belly 500 g; eggs 4 pieces; cooking oil 15 ml; light soy sauce 75 ml; rice wine 25 ml; garlic 25 g; bay leaf 2 pieces; star anise 1 pieces; rock sugar 20 g; ground white pepper 6 g; five-spice powder 6 g

Rice topped with strips of pork belly long simmered with shallots, fermented bean curd and rice wine, glossy with a dark amber sauce and a braised egg.

143 minutes · 4 servings · Moderate

This is the everyday lunch of Taiwan, sold from a tin cart on almost every street corner. Long strips of pork belly are browned first, then simmered for about an hour until the sauce turns glossy amber. It is poured over white rice with a braised egg, and the egg is the part people argue about: firm yolk or soft.

Ingredients

shallots25 g
skin-on pork belly500 g
eggs4 pieces
cooking oil15 ml
light soy sauce75 ml
rice wine25 ml
garlic25 g
bay leaf2 pieces
star anise1 pieces
rock sugar20 g
ground white pepper6 g
five-spice powder6 g

Directions

1
Cut the skin-on pork belly into long strips about zero point seven centimeters wide and two and a half centimeters tall.
2
Finely chop the shallots and garlic and set aside.
3
Boil the eggs, peel them, and score the whites with a knife so they take on more flavor; set aside.
4
Heat the pan over high heat, add fifteen milliliters of oil and swirl it around the base.
5
Add the pork belly strips and stir-fry until the meat just turns pale, then pour ten milliliters of rice wine down the side of the pan. Keep stir-frying until the pork stops giving off fat.
6
Add the chopped shallots and stir-fry for a minute until they release their sweet, oniony aroma.
7
Add the rest of the chopped shallots and stir-fry for thirty seconds.
8
Push the pork to one side, add the rock sugar and let it melt and bubble into caramel, then toss the pork through so the caramel coats it evenly.
9
Add the light soy sauce and fry until fragrant.
10
Deglaze with twenty-five milliliters of rice wine, add water to cover the pork along with the white pepper, five-spice powder, star anise, bay leaf and boiled eggs; bring to a boil, then drop to low heat and braise for one hour.
11
After an hour, raise the heat and reduce the sauce until it is thick and glossy amber.
12
Spoon the braised pork over a bowl of rice, add a braised egg and dig in.

Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.