When I took a bite into this tender pork enrobed in a glossy thick gorgeous sauce, I just couldn’t resist gobbling down the whole bowl of Lu Rou Fan in no time. 

That was my response to Lu Rou Fan when I had a quick lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant. 

I was not expecting much initially, as the color and look were not impressive, but soon I knew judging it from the perspective of fine dining is utterly wrong and undermines this street food. The flavor is out of the world.

I want to show you how to make Lu Rou Fan, the Taiwanese braised pork rice, in this recipe. So let’s get started right now.

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What is Lu Rou Fan? 

Lu Rou Fan is the transliteration of 滷肉飯 in Chinese, with the approximate pronunciation. The three words 滷肉飯 in Chinese mean braise, meat, and rice, respectively. It is braised pork with thick gravy, hard-boiled egg, and some vegetables served on steamed rice. You can get this street food in every nook and corner in Taiwan, and it is one of the most well-known street foods in Taiwan and abroad.

Ues pork belly for the best result

Pork is the primary ingredient for Lu Rou Fan, but not all cuts will deliver the same result. Pork belly is the choice as it has a fair share of fat, which tenderizes the meat. 

Those who crave Lu Rou Fan will tell you that it has to be pork with fat, primarily pork belly with skin. The skin will release a gelatin-like substance during braising and subsequently thicken the gravy, forming a lustrous, glossy sheen on the meat.

Let’s prepare the pork:

• Get ready half kg of pork belly, preferably with skin. 
• Some pork might have an unwanted porky smell. If it happens, place the pork belly in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil. When the water is boiling, remove the pork and clean it under running water. 
• If you find the skin is not clean, scrape the skin with the knife to remove any hair or dirt that may still be there. Wash again.
• Cut the pork belly into small chunks, preferably within half to one cm thick, then cut into thin pieces. 

Egg and tofu – the secondary ingredients

Hard-boiled eggs always coexist with pork belly in Lu Rou Fan, and firm tofu is an occasional addition for some cooks.

Making hard-boiled eggs is easy but can be a frustrating chore if you find the egg membrane and shell are hard to peel off. The eggs will end up with multiple chips and marks instead of a shiny and smooth surface. Instead, try the following method if you have difficulty making a perfect hard-boiled egg. I have used this even for soft eggs (those that are only boiled for seven minutes for ramen, which the yolk is still jiggling) and to be able to peel it effortlessly.

• Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• Place the egg into the water carefully. You can use chilled eggs from the refrigerator if you want the egg yolk to remain runny while the egg white has already set.
• Let it boil undisturbed for seven-minute for a soft, ramen egg, or up to sixteen minutes to cook it thoroughly.
• Remove the eggs, plunge them into ice water, and chill in the refrigerator.
• Remove the chilled eggs, then crack them while still wet. The eggshell will detach from the egg easily. 

Firm tofu is a welcome addition to the eggs and pork, as it absorbs the flavor like a sponge. However, soft tofu is unsuitable as it will easily break while braising. Braising the whole tofu prevents it from absorbing too much-braising liquid. It also prevents sliced tofu from breaking while cooking. 

Seasoning and aromatics 

The main seasoning for the pork is the soy sauce called 酱油, which is for braising. It is a type of soy sauce that is slightly thicker and darker than light soy sauce, which is suitable for braising or stewing. You can substitute it with a combination of light and dark soy sauce as the substitute. 

Other ingredients include a combination of garlic, shallot, and scallion. While garlic and scallion are added to the pork, you need to deep-fry the shallots to get the best result. 

There are ready-made fried shallots sold in the Asian grocery store, which is convenient. However, it is pretty easy to fry it with the oil rendered from the pork. All you need is to slice the shallot thinly and fry until golden. Please follow the steps in the recipe for the details. 

Another essential ingredient for making Lu Rou Fan is Chinese five-spice powder. Since the mix of these spices differs from brand to brand, you will expect a slightly different taste when comparing the braised pork made by other brands of five-spice powder.

How to make Lu Rou Fan

Here are the detailed steps on making Lu Rou Fan, assuming that you have prepared and cut all the ingredients.

Fry the pork

1. Place the pork belly pieces in a heated wok or pan. There is no need to add any oil as the pork fat will eventually render and become non-stick.
2. Stir-fry the pork over medium heat, and constantly stir to ensure even cooking. The pork will release its moisture initially, making the pan slightly wet. However, as you continue stir-frying the pork, the liquid will eventually evaporate, and only the oil remains. The color of the pork will also start to change.
3. Once you notice oil rendered from the pork, push the pork to one side of the pan, tilt the pan slightly to allow the oil to gather at the other side. Add the thinly sliced shallot to the oil and let it deep-fry over low heat. The shallot will lose its moisture and turn to a beautiful light golden color. It may take a few minutes to achieve this color. If your pan is too small, you can remove the pork and leave the lard inside the pan to fry the shallot.
4. Now add some brown sugar to the pork. Brown sugar is more suitable than white sugar as it caramelizes quickly, forming a slightly sticky brownish layer on the pork.  This step helps to add color to the pork.
5. Include the scallion and garlic once the sugar is caramelized. Garlic is not added earlier to avoid getting burned and turning bitter.
6. Once the garlic has become aromatic, add the soy sauce 酱油 (or a mix of light and dark soy sauce.) I added slightly less than the intended amount to have the option to make the final adjustment when it is nearly done. Soy sauce darkens the color of the pork, which starts to resemble those served in the restaurant.

Braise the pork

1. Season with some salt, ground white pepper, and five-spice powder.
2. Add the peeled hard-boiled eggs and firm tofu.
3. Fill the pan with sufficient water just enough to submerge all the ingredients. You may want to transfer the pork to a smaller pot if the pan is too large. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to cook it at barely simmering temperature, with tiny burps of bubbles popping up randomly.
4. Braise the pork, egg, and tofu low and slow for at least 1.5 hours, or until the pork is tender. Stir occasionally to ensure all the ingredients are cooked evenly.
5. If there is still too much-braising liquid in the pan after the pork is tender, continue cooking to reduce the liquid to a thick and glossy gravy that coats every piece of the pork. 
6. You can use a spoon to skim off the excess oil floating on top if you like. It is pretty easy to skim the oil as it is transparent, well-separated from the dark brown gravy.

How to serve Taiwanese braised pork rice

Braised pork is usually served with steamed rice, making sense as the word Fan means rice in Chinese. The most common way is to cover the cooked rice in a bowl with the braised pork, halved hard-boiled egg, tofu slices, and some vegetables. 

Is Lu Rou Fan a healthy meal?

Not really. Enjoying Lu Rou Fan is for satisfying your craving and tantalizing your tastebuds. Of course, the pork fat and the high amount of sodium will disqualify it as healthy food, but occasional indulgence is much needed when you are yearning for this authentic Taiwanese street food.

Other one-pot rice recipes

It is one of the many all-in-one rice bowl dishes. Here are some other similar one-pot rice meals you may want to try.

• Chicken clay pot rice is a popular one-pot meal in Malaysia, especially liked by working people looking for a quick meal.
• Lotus leaf rice– the typical Chinese dim sum that is wrapped in lotus leaf.
• Lo Mai Gai– Like Lotus leaf rice, but is steamed in a metal bowl.
• Ground beef rice and baked pork chop rice– these are the staple on the menu of the Hong Kong style cafe- cha chaan teng.