Who wouldn’t fall in love with lu rou fan? It is one of the famous dish in Taiwan, and I do not think anyone who tasted it would not love it. My children fell in love with it so much when they first tasted it several years back at one of the night market in Taipei. I can’t exactly remember which night market it was because we visited a lot of it, but I am thinking it might be Raohe. After we came back, I tried a couple of times, but I was not able to get the exact same taste of what we had, until I tried it again recently, that my children said it is the taste of what they remembered. As for me I feel that the taste is really quite close to what the original is. So here it is!

It is best to cook this dish in a slow cooker or thermal pot. So it won’t easily dry up your sauce but if you don’t have it, a covered pot or wok would do the same trick but you just have to simmer it slowly at lowest heat setting.

Ingredients

• 700g Pork Belly Skin On (chopped see picture below)
• 6 pcs Star Anise
• 2 clove
• 2 shallots chopped
• 4g sliced ginger
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 pieces dried tangerine peel (chenpi)
• 10g oil
• 50g shaoxing wine (updated)
• 40g premium soy sauce
• 35g dark soy sauce (my dark soy sauce is thin, so if your dark soy sauce is the thick type, please adjust accordingly by putting little by little until it reaches to your desired colour)
• 725ml water
• 35g rock sugar
• 6 hard boiled eggs

Method

• Place all of your solid spices such as ginger, star anise, cinnamon sticks, clove, bay leaves and tangerine peel in a tea bag or small cheese cloth tie up with a string. set aside.
• Blanched the chopped pork belly in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, clean under tap water, drain, pat dry and set aside.
• In a heated wok, add the oil, and fry some shallots. Add in the meat.
• Stir fry for about 2-3 minutes – medium high heat
• Add in the water, followed by soy sauce, dark soy sauce, shaoxing, spices the teabag or cheese cloth, and cloves, Stir until combined, add in the rock sugar and hard boiled egg
• Bring the mixture to boil, then turn down the heat to the lowest setting, cover and let it simmer until the meat becomes very tender and the sauce slightly thicken. Stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Simmer for about an hour – an hour and 15 minutes.
• Once tender remove the spice pouch.
• Served over steamed white rice.