2026-02-24 Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice Bowl) | Judy Leung

Lu rou fan, a Taiwanese comfort food classic of braised pork belly over rice, is probably the best recipe to come out of our kitchen this month.

Ingredients

• 1 lb skin-on pork belly ((450g, cut into 1/2” pieces))
• 2 teaspoons oil
• 0.9 oz. rock sugar ((25g, or about 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar))
• 1 small onion or a couple of shallots ((diced))
• 8 shiitake mushrooms ((diced into 1/2” pieces))
• 1/4 cup shaoxing wine ((60 ml))
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce ((45 ml))
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce ((30 ml))
• 2 cups water ((475 ml))
• 4 hardboiled eggs ((peeled, optional))
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
• 2 pieces dried tangerine peel
• 2 slices fresh ginger

Instructions

• Bring a medium pot of water to a boil (just enough so that the pork will be fully submerged), and blanch the chopped pork belly for 1 minute. Drain, rinse clean of any scum, and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a wok over low heat, and add the sugar. Cook the sugar until it starts to melt and then add the onions. Turn up the heat to medium high and stir-fry the onions for a minute. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry for another couple minutes.
• Add the blanched pork, shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and water. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, add the spices (which should be tied in cheese cloth), along with the peeled hardboiled eggs and turn the heat to the lowest setting. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
• At this point the meat should be fall-apart tender. To finish the dish, remove the spice packet and turn up the heat to medium high to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally. This process should take about 5-minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon, but there should still be plenty of it left. Serve over steamed white rice.

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