We’ve been on a Taiwanese kick lately. I think it all started when my mom told me that the food court in Flushing Mall had closed. Taiwanese restaurants are already hard to find and now some of the last little booths standing are forever gone. Where will we get our Stinky Tofu (my family loves but I don’t), Oyster Pancakes, Pork Chop Rice, and Taiwanese Ice? When we were kids, we used to go to Lai Food but it changed to 66 Lu’s (Chinese name stayed the same) and it never tasted the same. There was a place in Elmhurst called David’s Taiwanese that also changed it’s name to something like Taiwanese Specialties Corp. It’s still decent but again, not the same.
We were at that restaurant, formerly David’s Taiwanese, and had the Lu Ro Fan. It was so sub par that the next week, my mom insisted on making me a good one. Of course, I did not protest. The secret is having the right mix of lean and fatty pork meat in little chunks, dancing together in a rich sauce that spills over onto the rice. The Pickled Mustard Green Relish is essential for the acid that balances the fatty juices. It is an ultra comforting home-style dish.
My mom explained that long ago, Lu Ro Fan was originally made of scraps, but after the popularity of this dish soared, restaurants had to make it in large quantities. Now, it is often made with pork belly, a nice mix of lean meat and fat. My mom likes to include the skin but you can remove it if you want.
It’s actually a very easy dish to make. You can’t over-cook it really (though make sure all your liquid doesn’t evaporate). It also stores well for a few weeks in the fridge, and left-overs taste just as good as the one made that day. Maybe even better.
Lu Ro Fan
~6 to 8 servings
- 1.35 pounds pork belly
- 4 pieces (about quarter sized) ginger
- 1 star anise
- 2″ piece of cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons fried shallots
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese 5 spice powder
- rice and pickled mustard green relish to serve
Instructions –
1. Dice pork belly in 1/2″ cubes. Set aside.
2. Make a sachet with ginger, star anise, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok on medium heat. Add pork belly and stir until just turning color.
4. Stir in soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Add the sachet and 2 cups of water. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil.
5. Allow to boil for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with fried shallots and Chinese 5 spice powder. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 1 hour, or until meat is tender. Remove sachet. Serve on rice with pickled mustard green relish.
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I love the Taiwanese kick you are on. I watch my grandmother make these dishes but I have no clue how. And now I know and I love recreating it. I made your soft pretzels this last weekend! Yummy! I wish there was a Taiwanese restaurant in Nashville, TN. I would be there every day 🙂
Got any ideas on taiwan bakery style bread?
Mmm, yummm…I ate the fried pork chop dish from the nyc cravings taiwanese food truck in Manhattan yesterday…it was okay, but i’m sure your pickled relish is much better, and I would’ve liked more lu rou fan sauce on the rice. Frankly, I’d prefer an entire dish of just that, no pork chop needed, but they don’t sell just that.
Oh, I love this dish, as you know. . .I’ve never tried making it with pork belly as I am of course deterred by the dicing. Pickled mustard relish is the bomb!
i see the words ‘pork belly’ and my mouth immediately and automatically begins to water. awesome dish!
Linda, I don’t know how to make the bread but my aunt took a Chinese bakery class so I’ll ask her. Is there a particular one you want to make?
Karen, the one in Elmhurst sells just Lu Ro Fan, but it’s not as good as my moms. The meat was a little dry.
JS, it is a lot of dicing but so worth it!
Nope. They were all so yummy and the consistency so smooth. I would be interested in any that you found.
OMG THANK YOU!!! I looove Taiwanese food and never knew what I was missing until my parents took my to Taiwan a few years ago. I’ve been craving authentic Taiwanese food and now I can make this at home! My parents will be proud.
Mmm…looks wonderful!
You had me at pork belly. I need to find a butcher around here that has it, however–every time I’ve asked, they give me a funny look….
Vicky, make it for your parents. It would be such a cool surprise dinner!
EMC, I’m surprised it’s hard to find pork belly. Maybe every pork belly in your area is being saved for bacon. hahaha
This is a favorite dish at my local Taiwanese restaurant. So glad to have found a recipe. Thank you!
awesome. i think this is what i like to eat at excellent pork chop house… except maybe with ground meat.
My favourite dish I had in Taiwan!
Hey Jessica,
Just went back to the Flushing Mall court. It’s back and open for business again. I think it was the sudden rush of health inspections that came in. But all fixed now.
Thanks Scott! Yay!
Hey Jessica,
We just tried your dish last night and it tasted pretty much 100% on par with what we have when we go back to TW.
My primary concern is, do you have an effective and easy way to mince the pork belly into such small pieces? I spent ages yesterday sawing through all the layers for a few pounds of belly (skin already removed). What is your tip/trick/technique?
Best,
H and J
H and J, so happy to hear that!! You have no idea!
Do you have good knives and are they sharp? Cutting/chopping can be so much easier with a good sharp knife. Another idea is, if you buy pork belly frozen, meat is sometimes easier to cut when frozen, so cut it up when it’s frozen and then defrost in your fridge, then cook it…hope that helps!
Hello! I tried making some variation of this braised pork belly. I noticed that most of the pork bellies I see on the internet or in restaurants have a very caramelized, thickened gravy quality to them. However, whenever I make this dish, in the end the pork just looks like it was boiled in thin soup. After braising the pork belly for about 2 hours (I browned it beforehand), when the meat was really soft, there was still a lot of soup left. I tried taking out the pork and boiling the liquid out, hoping that the broth would thicken, but this only made the sauce very salty once it reduced. I added more water to this salty liquid, but then I was just back at square one — thin soup. Can you give me some insight on how to make this dish rich and not thin/soupy? Am I supposed to add corn starch? Thank you in advance! -Cammy
Hi Cammy, it’s hard for to comment without knowing what variations or alterations you made. This particular dish does not get a thick gravy but it should not be soupy either. I’m not sure what you’re looking for but in Red Braised Pork Belly, the thing that makes the sauce coat the meat is the caramelization of the rock sugar. Good luck and let me know if you have more questions.
I love the taste of pork belly, but much too much fat for me, I’ll use pork shoulder butt instead…
The pork that I used did not have sufficient fat and the pork was dry and not tender, must try this again. At an authentic chinese restaurant that we like, they serve this dish and the pork is not pork belly but is is deliciously tender and seasoned perfectly, so there must be a suitable alternative to pork belly. My wife and I also agreed that I was missing a flavor that is present in Taiwanese versions that we have tried. I did not follow this recipe exactly, although it was very similar. It came out a little too salty, also.