Saturday, October 17, 2009

Lu Rou Fan (Stewed Pork Rice)

I'm a huge fan of Taiwanese food. This wasn't always the case though. When I was 4 years old and spent a summer in Taiwan, I begged for hamburgers, pizza and spaghetti, and there was just none to be found (this was before McDonald's made their way out there). When my mom finally found spaghetti, I refused to eat it becuase it was was basically ketchup over noodles, yuck. So what was a kid to do? I survived off of yakult yogurt drinks, sa chi ma (chinese rice krispy treats), and whatever healthy items my mom managed to force down my throat.

Now that I'm all grown up, I love Taiwanese food and just can't get enough. The best part about visiting Taiwan is the food! But since I can't just hop on a plane to enjoy all those goodies, I make it at home.

Ingredients:
- Ground pork (or fatty pork belly would be even better!)
- Shitake mushrooms
- Shallots
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
- Fried shallots
- Eggs (optional)

Directions:
- Rehydrate the shitake mushrooms if you're using dried. (Using hot water or popping it in the microwave for a minute will speed up the process if you're in a rush).

- Finely dice the shallots and set them aside.
- Dice the mushrooms too.
- In a heavy bottomed pot, heat up some oil.
- Add the shallots in and saute them until soft.
- Add the ground pork and some soy sauce. Brown until mostly cooked through.
- Add the mushrooms, the liquid from the mushrooms (being careful not to pour in the grit at the bottom) and enough water to barely cover everything.
- Add some fried shallots to taste.


- Add more soy sauce and brown sugar to taste.
- If you want, you can add some peeled hard boiled eggs and simmer them until brown and flavorful for soy sauce eggs.


- Simmer until the flavors have come together and serve it over rice (garnishing it with more fried shallots if desired).

25 comments:

ann low said...

Looks so delicious! Lu Rou Fan is also my family favourite.

foodhoe said...

The recipe sounds very interesting, I am not familiar with Taiwanese food and wonder about the optional eggs... how do they fit in if using?

gaga said...

Ooops, I forgot left out the part of what to do with the egg. I updated the post with a few extra photos too. Thanks for pointing that out!

That Girl said...

Do you know, I have a lot of Taiwanese friends, but I've never had Taiwanese food?

Daziano said...

Interesting recipe! Thanks for sharing!

Da Curious One said...

i love this dish! now you've got me craving some

veron said...

Love the flavors in this. I was very picky when I was young but now I would try anything and everything. I would definitely have this with eggs.

Reeni said...

This looks really delicious! I just saw the movie Eat Drink Man Woman - it takes place in Taiwan and the food looks wonderful!

pigpigscorner said...

Perfect with rice! I tried making lu rou fan too, so delicious!

Claudia said...

This is delicious - and easy. It will be my introduction to Taiwanese food!

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Yummy! Perfect with rice and you did a wonderful job.

kirbie said...

Yum! It'd be nice if we could instantly teleport to Taiwan. =)

Carolyn Jung said...

Yum! This looks like a bowl of pure tasty goodness.

Amanda said...

Wow!! This dish is so far beyond my capabilities... I think I am going to enjoy just admiring it from afar!!

Well done!

God bless-
Amanda

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

gaga, thanks for dropping by my blog, you too have a nice blog, already add you in my blog list. This rice is my kid's favorite.

Juliana said...

You know? My mom always make this dish and my son just love it...she even add a boiled egg (the ones marinated in the sauce)...yours looks very yummie!

annalumor said...

I love pork rice,yours looks delicious.

Simones Kitchen said...

Isn't it funny how our tastes change over the years? I used to dislike lots of things my mom made, but I love most of those (not all, not all!) now. This looks like a lovely dish.

TasteHongKong said...

This is one of the must-eat foods when i visit Taiwan. I guess you have modified it a little bit as the ones served by the locals seem to have a greater amount of lard.

Jessica@Foodmayhem said...

I love Lu Rou Fan! My husband isn't too fond of Taiwanese food (though he loves other Chinese) but he does like Lu Rou Fan.

Jo said...

This looks great and love all the ingredients in this dish. Another way of cooking this (adapted Cantonese style) is to cook the ingredients until almost done and then stir it directly into 3/4 cooked rice. The flavours will blend into the rice directly and all this can be done in a rice cooker.

gaga said...

TasteHongKong - yes, I did leave out the addition of extra lard. It still tastes good though (but would be better with the lard).

Joanne said...

Isn't it funny how much our tastes change as we grow up? This looks fantastic!

petite nyonya said...

Wow, looks delicious! I like Taiwanese food too. There is a Taiwanese cafe near where I live which I've visited a couple of times.

Jys said...

hmmm.. i love lu rou fan too!! yummy!!!!