This Taiwanese dish, called Lu Rou Fan, is a one-bowl meal consisting of richly flavored, soy-simmered pork served over steamed rice. Milk Street Cook Matthew Card prepares this Taiwanese Five-Spice Pork with Rice on Season Two of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television in an episode called “Taipei Cooking Lesson.”
Pork belly is traditional. but we found ground pork faster and just as delicious.
Hard-cooked eggs are common, but we preferred soft-cooked eggs for their runny yolks. To make soft-cooked eggs, bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a large saucepan fitted with a steamer basket. Add eggs, cover and steam over medium for 7 minutes. Transfer the eggs to ice water to stop the cooking, then shell and halve the eggs before serving.
We liked serving steamed or stir-fried bok choy or broccoli alongside, a nice balance to the richness of the pork.
Don’t use regular soy sauce; when reduced during cooking in this recipe it will become too salty. And don’t use cooking sherry, which contains added salt; use an inexpensive dry sherry.
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce, divided, plus more, as needed
- 1⁄4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil
- 12 ounces shallots, halved and thinly sliced
- 10 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1⁄4 cups dry sherry
- 1⁄3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons five-spice powder
- 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
- Steamed rice, to serve
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced on bias
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP ONE. In a medium bowl, mix the pork with 1⁄4 cup of the soy sauce. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
STEP TWO. In a large Dutch oven over medium, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until deeply browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant and just beginning to brown, about 1 minute.
STEP THREE. Add the sherry, sugar, five-spice and remaining 3⁄4 cup soy sauce. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then increase to high and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, until reduced and syrupy and a spoon leaves a clear trail, about 5 minutes. Reduce to low and allow the simmering to subside.
STEP FOUR. Add the pork, breaking it into small pieces. Cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, then taste and add soy sauce, if needed. Spoon steamed rice into individual bowls, top with the pork and sprinkle with scallions.
