Recipes

Not that you need an excuse to whip up some good Chinese food—but it being Chinese New Year and all, what better time to get busy in the kitchen? Try this one on for size: Lu Rou Fang, a.k.a. braised pork belly atop a steaming bowl of rice. Some believe it to originate from Taiwan (where it is especially popular), others will argue it hails from Shandong, China; no matter, the dish is a well-loved favorite in both countries for its savory, comforting profile. And you can make it at home too.

For some next-level nomz, serve with a soy egg or two.

Here, pork belly (chunks are traditional, but we cut ours into strips) gets simmered in a savory-sweet soy-based mix that gets reduced into a luscious, sticky sauce as the pork gets soft and tender. The result is an incredibly flavorful stew that’s not unlike Filipino adobo, sans the vinegar and spiked with garlic, five spice, and clove—and begging to be sopped up by the warm rice below.

Lu Rou Fan

Serves: 4 servings
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Lu Rou Fan

3 tbsp. oil
½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
800g pork belly, thinly sliced then sliced into
strips
½ tbsp. five spice
1 tsp. clove
1 tbsp. sugar
¼ cup sweet soy sauce
1 cup soy sauce
¼ cup Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tbsp. water

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes.
Add pork belly into the pot and cook, stirring continuously, until brown.
Add garlic, five spice, and cloves, and stir until combined.
Cook the mixture for 5 minutes or until fragrant.
Add sugar, sweet soy sauce, soy sauce, and cooking wine to the pot.
Mix thoroughly until combined, then bring mixture up to a boil.
Once boiling, turn the heat down and cover the pot with a lid.
Cook until pork belly is completely tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the dish.
Mix cornstarch and water together in a separate bowl until cornstarch is dissolved.
Add slurry to the pot and stir until lu rou fang is thickened.
Serve over white rice and garnish with spring onions.

Patricia Baes SEE AUTHOR Patricia Baes

Trish thinks too much about everything—truth, existence.....and what’s on her plate. Her ongoing quest for a better relationship with food has led to a passion for cooking, gastronomy, and a newfound interest in its politics. She dreams of perfecting the art of making soufflé with her crappy toaster oven.

3 comments in this post SHOW

3 responses to “Lu Rou Fan is a Taiwanese Comfort Favorite to Make for CNY”

Lala says:
February 11, 2019 at 1:46 pm
what is sweet soy sauce and where can you get it? what are popular brands of sweet soy sauce?
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kat says:
February 23, 2019 at 9:55 am
hello, what brands of soy sauce did you use for this recipe? is it not too much to use 1 1/2 cups of soy sauce for the amount of pork?:) cant wait to try this recipe 🙂 thank you!
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kat says:
February 23, 2019 at 9:56 am
sorry, typo, 1 1/4 cups pala 🙂
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