Taiwanese braised pork rice bowls

Your ingredients

Get ready: Heavy saucepan or wok with lid, slotted spoon, heatproof sieve, bowl and thermometer.

• 🥣Crispy shallots: 250 ml neutral cooking oil
• 🥣Crispy shallots: 140 g shallots , thinly sliced
• 🥩Pork: 450 g pork belly, skin on
• 🥩Pork: 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 🥩Pork: 20 g rock sugar
• 🥩Pork: 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 🥩Pork: 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 🥩Pork: 2 tbsp unsalted stock, instead of cooking wine
• 🥩Pork: ½ tsp five-spice powder
• 🥩Pork: ¼ tsp ground white pepper
• 🥩Pork: 5 shiitake mushrooms
• 🥩Pork: 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 🍚4 portions plain steamed rice
• 🥣Blanched green vegetable
• 🥩Water or clean mushroom-soaking water, enough to cover the pork

Let’s make it

1. Soak and slice

   Rehydrate the shiitake as directed on their packet, keeping clean soaking water. Slice shallots thinly, cut pork into small strips and prepare hard-boiled eggs.

2. Fry the shallots

   Warm the frying oil over medium heat and add shallots. Stir until golden, then carefully lift onto a heatproof sieve. Turn off the oil and let it cool somewhere secure; never carry a pan of hot oil to empty it.

3. Start the pork

   In a separate heavy pan, cook pork over medium-high heat until some fat renders and the edges brown. Add garlic and sugar and stir until the sugar melts.

4. Add the braise

   Add soy sauces, stock in place of wine, five-spice, white pepper, mushrooms, most fried shallots and eggs. Add mushroom water and extra water just to cover the meat.

5. Simmer until tender

   Bring to a boil, cover and simmer very gently for at least 1 hour. Check halfway and top up hot water if needed. Pork must be tender and fully cooked; confirm 75°C for 30 seconds. Reduce excess liquid uncovered, keeping some sauce.

6. Build four bowls

   Divide freshly cooked hot rice between bowls. Add blanched greens and halved eggs, then spoon over pork and sauce. Finish with the reserved shallots.