INTRODUCTION

Hmmm, I am still unsure if I have made a mistake in naming of this famous Taiwanese cuisine. Though in English both were called Lu Rou Fan but one in 卤肉饭 which is prepared by braising big pieces of meat and the other one is called 鲁肉饭 which is basically prepared by braising minced meat. However, the method of preparation appeared to be the same. Wiki (as below) mentioned that the word “鲁“ and “卤” had been used interchangeably for many historic years.

Lu Rou Fan is one item that I never miss ordering if I frequented Taiwanese restaurant. I loved that type of sweet, melt in the mouth texture of meat, full of dark soya sauce， fried shallots and mushroom aroma.

My wife have requested me to try preparing this after her recent trip back from Taiwan. She said that she love this hawker snack especially in the famous Shi Lin night market.

As per Wikipedia:

“Minced pork rice (Chinese: 滷肉飯; pinyin: lǔ ròu fàn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ló͘-bah-pn̄g) is a Chinese-style donburi (rice covered in sauce) commonly seen throughout Taiwan and southern Fujian province. The flavour may vary from one region to another, but the basic ingredients remain the same: ground pork marinated and boiled in soy sauce served on top of steamed rice. The word “Lu (滷)” has the closest meaning to “cooking in thick broth or sauce.” This gives the term “滷肉飯” the direct meaning of “rice with braised meat. However, for several decades, Taiwanese have used the homophone “魯” instead of “滷”. Although people still use the original character in China, “魯肉飯” has become the most common name seen in Taiwanese restaurants and street vendors.

While Minced pork rice is referred to as one important icon in typical Taiwanese folk cuisine, the variety of methods to customize flavours is so wide that it creates considerable differences between regions. In southern Taiwan, where people name it by the sauce “bah-sò-pn̄g (肉燥飯)” instead of the meat, Minced pork rice is preferably served with pork with less fat. People in the north of Taiwan favour a greasier version of meat sauce with rice. In southern Taiwan, while “bah-sò-pn̄g” is seen on the menu indicating Minced pork rice, “ló͘-bah-pn̄g (滷肉飯)” remains on the very same menu, referring to another dish where braised pork belly covers the rice. The same rice with braised pork belly is known as “khòng-bah-pn̄g (焢肉飯)” in northern Taiwan. Minced pork rice can also be found in China, and a wider selection of vegetables such as corn is eaten along with it.” (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minced_pork_rice)

I have used slow cooker to braise the meat overnight. But that is not necessary. You can always braised the meat over the stoves for 3-4 hours or until the meat are soft.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings – About 6-8 adult servings

• 500 grams of minced pork
• 6 shallots – cut into thin pieces
• 1 whole garlic – cut into thin pieces
• 3 cm of ginger, skinned and cut into thin slices
• 4 shiitake or winter mushrooms – soaked and cut into thin slices
• 2 tablespoons of light soya soya sauce
• 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
• 1/2 cup of dark soya sauce
• 1/2 cup of Chinese  cooking wine
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
• 1 teaspoon of 5 spice powder
• 1 medium size Rock sugar or 5 tablespoons of castor sugar

Others (Not in picture)

• 6 hard boiled eggs, shelled
• Cooked Rice
• Some green vegetables, blanched with hot water
• Some Japanese Daikon for Sushi preparation (optional)
• Slow cooker for braising the minced meat
• 2-3 tablespoons of corn flour  mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of water (for thickening of gravy)

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Have some cooking oil adequate to sauté the garlics and shallots slices. Sauté the garlic and shallots until it is golden brown, crispy and fragrant. Drain and use something to “break” the fried shallots and garlics. Set aside for the later use.

• Use the same frying pan, transfer out some of the oil and leave about 2-3 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan. Sauté the sliced mushrooms until aromatic. Once ready, add the minced meat and dark soya sauce. Stir fry until well combined and colour is evenly distributed (about 2-3 minutes). Add the minced shallots and garlics and transfer the half cooked minced pork to the slow cooker.

• In the slow cooker, add cooking wine, light soya sauce, sesame oil, cinnamon stick, oyster sauce, star anise, rock sugar, five spice powder and ginger. Use something to stir all the ingredients until well mixed. Add plain water adequate to cover the minced meat. Cook in the slow cooker for 4-5 hours.

• If you do not have the slow cooker, simmer the above ingredients over low heat on a stove for 2-3 hours until the meat is soft.  If you are cooking braised eggs, you can put the hard boiled eggs about 2 hours before the completion time.

• For pressure cooker version, use the pressure cooker to pressure cook the meat for 15 minutes. After cooking, transfer out the whole pot of meat to a stove. Bring to boil under high heat until the sauce thickens which took about 15 minutes depending on your water. 

• Depending on your preference, you can add starches to the braised meat to thicken the soup and smoothen the meat texture. If you plan to do that, dilute 2 tablespoons of corn flour with 2 tablespoons of water. Add the starch solution to the braised meat gravy gradually. Cook until the gravy turned transparent.

• For assembly, have a bowl of rice, put some blanched green vegetables, some braised eggs and some minced pork on top of the hot rice. Add some Daikon or preserved vegetables to ease the greasiness of the dish. However, that is totally optional. I have used 贡菜 (a type of preserved mustard) and it definitely goes well with the minced pork. Best served as a complete one pot rice dish.

CONCLUSION

This is a savoury dish and you should try to tailor to suit your family’s taste buds. It is supposed to be slightly sweet, salty, aromatic and a bit greasy. But with the Daikon or other preserved vegetables, the greasiness is negated by the refreshing preserved vegetables. I am happy with this adventure and i hope all of you can give this recipe a try.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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