Pork is a commonly consumed meat in China as well as in many eastern Asia countries, it contains high-quality protein and also is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals. If you love pork, there is one dish you have to try – Lu Rou Fan (卤肉饭 lǔ ròu fàn) , which means braised pork and rice. This dish is originated from Taiwan, the style might be slightly different from north to south but overall very popular, especially in the night markets. This dish is easy to make and extremely scrumptious.
Background on Lu Rou Fan
The best cut of pork to make this dish is what we call Wuhuarou (五花肉 wǔ huā ròu) in Chinese, which means marbled meat. This is what we use to describe the “5-layered meat” of a good pork belly cut. This specific cut of pork will give you a superb texture when braised or slow-cooked, also it is quite cheap to get here in the UK compare to other cuts of pork, which means if you are cooking for a big group, this dish will not only provide that exotic wow factor but will also save you quite a bit of money.
If you are planning a trip to Taiwan, definitely give this dish a try, you won’t regret it! Here are some suggested restaurants for Lu Rou Fan in Taipei:
- Lugang Lu Rou Fan (鹿港魯肉飯)
Address: No. 233, Section 2, Yanping N Rd, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Phone: +886 2 2557 3269
- Huang Ji Braised Pork (黃記魯肉飯)
Address: No. 28, Lane 183, Section 2, Zhongshan N Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Phone: +886 2 2595 8396
- Lushier Braised Pork (魯十二滷肉飯 三重仁愛店)
Address: No. 356, Ren’ai St, Sanchong District, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Phone: +886 2 8985 2279
What Ingredients You Need to Make Authentic Lu Rou Fan
The best cut of meat to use for Lu Rou Fan is pork belly, preferably with a nice ratio of fat on it for that extra flavour. You’ll also need a nice helping of dried shiitake mushrooms. Our recipe also includes boiled eggs which compliment the braised flavours of the pork.
Now that we have our ingredients ready, let’s get to the recipe!
Authentic Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Belly) Recipe
Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes1
hour10
minutesThis recipe shows you how to make an authentic Chinese Lu Rou Fan stir fry with braised pork belly and boiled eggs.
Ingredients
500g pork belly
10 x dried shiitake mushrooms
3 x eggs
1 medium onion
4 x cloves of garlic
5g fresh ginger
3 x bay leaves
½ tsp Wangshouyi 13 species
½ tsp Chinese cooking wine
½ tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp oyster sauce
Directions
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in room temperature water for 30 mins. Afterwards, cut the mushrooms into small cubes, filter the mushroom water and put the cut mushrooms back. We purposely save the mushroom water for its rich savoury note which will provide the dish bursting umami.
- Boil 3 eggs and peel them. Set them aside for later.
- Peel your garlic, onion and ginger (because I didn’t have any onion at the time, I didn’t put any). Finely chop them like shown in the picture, this step will make the fragrance of the ingredients release easily when stir-fried in hot oil.
- Cut your pork belly into small strips, make sure the one strip you cut has the “layered marble”, which means it should contain a few layers of fat and lean meat.
- Add a tbsp of vegetable oil to a cooking pot, heat it up. Add your minced ginger, garlic, onion and bay leaves in the oil, keep stir-frying until they are nicely browned.
- Add your pork belly in and keep stir-frying until the meat is browned evenly. Add the soaked and cut mushrooms along with the mushroom water.
- Add ½ tsp oyster sauce, 1tbsp light soy sauce, ½ tbsp dark soy sauce, ½ tsp Chinese cooking wine, ½ tsp Wangshouyi 13 spices, 3 tsp pure cane sugar, salt to your taste and 2.5 cups of water, add the boiled and peeled eggs in. Medium-low heat, let the ingredients slow cook for 1 hour. Check midway to make sure your food is not dry and is not burned (I added a layer of damp towel on top of my lid to reduce water evaporation). Flip the eggs if only half of them are soaked in the sauce, so they could come out with a more evenly “tan”.
- Take out the bay leaves before serving. Boil vegetables of your choice for garnishing. Don’t forget to serve with some of the sauce on your rice, that’s the soul of this dish!
- We hope you enjoy it. 您慢用 (nín màn yòng)!
Try It Yourself!
And there you have it! This is how you can make an authentic Lu Rou Fan dish with braised pork and boiled eggs. Give it a go and let us know what you think in the comments below. If you make the recipe, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag us @linschinesekitchen.
