If you are a meat eater and you can’t say no to tender, succulent, flavorful braised pork belly, this recipe is for you. Let’s make Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly (Kong Rou Fan 控肉饭) and reward our belly today!
INGREDIENTS (serves 4-5 people with white rice)
- 2 lb of skin on pork belly
- 3-4 tbsp of oil to pan-sear the pork belly
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 inch of ginger, minced
- 1.5 tbsp of oil to cameralize the sugar
- 3 tbsp of sugar
- 4 tbsp of soy sauce
- 4 tbsp of dark soy sauce
- 1 star anise
- 1 small stick of cinnamon
- 2 pieces of bay leave
- 2 scallions
- 1/4 cup of fried crispy shallots
- 1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine
- 3-4 cups of water or the mushroom soaking liquid
- 6 pieces of dried shiitake mushroom, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 4 boiled and peeled eggs
- Pickled long beans, optional
INSTRUCTIONS
You will need some dried shiitake mushrooms (Fresh will also work). Usually, dried mushrooms will take about 2 hours of soaking to be fully rehydrated, but sometimes we forget. In this case, you can soak them in hot water to speed up the process, which only takes 20 minutes. While waiting, you can prepare the rest of the ingredients.
I have got here a slap of pork belly, about 2 lbs. Use paper towels to absorb any access moisture on the surface.
Preheat your wok until smoking hot, then add some cooking oil. Swirl it around to create a non-stick surface. Pan-sear the pork belly, skin side down, over medium heat until golden brown (3-5 minutes). Be careful, this process will cause some hot oil splattering. You can partially put the lid on so you don’t dirty your countertop and also allow the steam to escape. Flip and sear the meat side for just a minute. This frying process is going to build up the flavor foundation as it creates so much mallard reaction.
Take the pork out and let it rest for a few minutes. The skin should be a little bit crispy. The meat side should be slightly brown. Don’t fry the meat side too much, or else the lean meat will dry out and turn stringy at the end.
Slice it into 2/3 of an inch thick slabs. By the way, if the pork belly that you purchased is pre-sliced already, that will work too. You just have to pan sear the belly slices until golden brown instead of searing a whole slap. Set the pork aside.
You will need to dice some shallot, garlic, and ginger. I like to throw them into a small blender and chop them all at once.
Remove the leftover oil and clean the wok. Add 1.5 tbsp of new oil, we will use that to caramelize the sugar. Keep the heat on medium-low and wait for a couple of minutes. Once you see the edge of the sugar start melting, stir constantly. In a couple of minutes, the sugar will turn a brown color. Keep waiting for the moment you see the caramel suddenly bubbles like that, quickly toss in the minced garlic, ginger, and shallots.
Stir for a couple of minutes or until the aromatics are fragrant. Then add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Any brand will work but since this is a Taiwanese dish, I am using the Taiwanese kim lan brand.
When you are cooking on a gas stove, the side of the wok is usually hotter than the center so you can push the sauce to the side and let the heat to caramelize the seasoning. That will create more complex flavors.
Continue by adding a star anise, two bay leaves, one stick of cinnamon, and the pork belly. Tear two scallions apart and throw them in as well. Keep mixing until the pork is well combined.
As a Chinese, I always braise the meat in a clay pot. The high heat capacity maintains the temperature well, so it makes super tender meats. If you don’t have a clay pot, regular stock pot will also work.
Add 1/4 cup of fried shallots, the rehydrated mushrooms, 1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine, and 4-5 boiled and peeled eggs. Use the soaking liquid to rinse the wok, then pour it into the clay pot, so you don’t waste any flavors. Check the liquid level. You can add more water to make sure most of the ingredients are under the liquid. I used 3.5 cups of water, including the mushroom soaking liquid we added before….
Crispy fried shallot is a significant Taiwanese ingredient. There is a saying your kong rou fan has no spirit without fried shallot. If you don’t have it, you can slice some shallots and fry them with a little bit of oil over low heat until golden brown, then add to the clay pot. It creates a different flavor compared to fresh shallots.
The eggs are going to be simmered with the pork for a long time, so they will be super flavorful. However, if you don’t like hard-boiled eggs, you can skip them.
Bring this to a boil and give it a taste. Mine was perfect so I don’t need to adjust anything. Turn the heat to the lowest and simmer for 1.5 hours.
Now you just prepare some white rice and be ready for your dinner. Oh, by the way, whenever I eat braised pork belly, I always like to serve it with some pickles because the tartiness helps to balance the fattiness of the pork belly. Any pickle will work but mustard green or long beans are classic. I didn’t make this, I just bought it from the Asian market.
when the pork is done simmering, it should have a beautiful brown&red color. It looks amazing and smells insanely delicious. The benefit of using a clay pot is that it can go directly from the stove to the dinner table. Put a few pieces of pork over the rice. This is what we call Lu Dan, which is very popular in Taiwanese cuisine. Even though it is hard-boiled but it is flavorful. Don’t forget to put some of that pickled long beans. Last, scoop in some braising liquid and drizzle it all over the rice.
Oh, let me show you how tender the pork is. You can break it open with chopsticks. My mouth is watering right now. I can’t wait to eat it. The meat melts instantly. The braising liquid is the killer, it makes everything flavorful. Besides white rice, you can also serve it on top of noodles. It is so delicious that I can’t stop eating it.
Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly Recipe (台湾控肉饭)
Ingredients
- A slab 900g / 2lb of skin on pork belly
- 3-4 tbsp of oil to pan-sear the pork belly
- 1 shallot minced
- 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 inch of ginger minced
- 1.5 tbsp of oil to cameralize the sugar
- 3 tbsp of sugar
- 4 tbsp of soy sauce
- 4 tbsp of dark soy sauce
- 1 star anise
- 1 small stick of cinnamon
- 2 pieces of bay leave
- 2 scallions
- 1/4 cup of fried crispy shallots
- 1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine
- 3-4 cups of water or the mushroom soaking liquid
- 6 pieces of dried shiitake mushroom soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 4 boiled and peeled eggs
- Pickled long beans optional
Instructions
- Soak the dried shitake mushrooms in 3-4 cups of hot water for 20 minutes.
- Dice the shallot, garlic, and ginger finely.
- Use paper towels to dab the pork belly to absorb the access moisture.
- Preheat the wok until smoking hot, add some cooking oil, and then pan-sear the pork belly, skin side down, over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until golden brown; this process will cause hot oil splattering. Please partially put the lid on to avoid dirtying the countertop and allow the steam to escape.
- Flip the pork belly and sear the meat side for just a minute. Don't fry the meat side too much, or else it will dry out and become stringy at the end. Also, this frying process will build up the flavor foundation, creating so much mallard reaction.
- Take the pork out and let it rest for a few minutes, then slice it into 2/3 of an inch thick slabs. Set them aside.
- After pean-searing, the oil will be brown and unhealthy; please discard it; then add 1.5 tbsp of new oil and some sugar. Keep the heat on medium-low and stir to caramelize.
- The sugar will melt, turn to brown caramel, and suddenly bubbles; quickly toss in the minced garlic, ginger, and shallots. Stir for a couple of minutes or until the aromatics are fragrant.
- Add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Continue to stir to mingle all the seasonings.
- Add star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, scallions, and the pork belly. Keep mixing until well combined.
- Transfer everything into a clay pot. A stock pot, instant pot, or dutch oven will also work if you don't have one.
- Add 1/4 cup of fried shallots, the soaked shitake mushrooms, 1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine, and 4-5 boiled and peeled eggs. Rinse the wok with the mushroom-soaking liquid, then pour it into the clay pot.
- Check the liquid level; add more water if needed to make sure most of the ingredients are under the liquid.
- Bring this to a boil and taste it to adjust the flavor. Turn the heat to the lowest and simmer for 1.5 hours.
- Serve with white rice and pickles; the tartiness balances the fattiness of the pork belly.