Tag: #porkbelly

Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice Bowl (Lu Rou Fan-卤肉饭)- In Hog Heaven!

Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice Bowl (Lu Rou Fan-卤肉饭)- In Hog Heaven!

Continuing my virtual traveling by cooking, I’m imagining myself in Taipei right now.  I have not been back to Taiwan in ages and yet I find myself thinking about Taipei and my visit so long ago.  Growing up in San Francisco the majority of Chinese are from Hong Kong and the Guangdong (Canton) region.  I was fortunate enough in college to spend a summer in Taipei (yes, on the Taiwan Love Boat Trip).  I sampled  Shao Lung Bao, Oyster Egg Omelets, Popcorn Chicken, Beef Noodle Soup, and Red Bean Shaved Ice while wandering around the night markets.  Everything was so delicious, different from Cantonese food, and yet familiar at the same time.

Bowl Food is Soul Food

If you have followed 3jamigos, you know I have an obsession with bowl food and eating with a spoon.  The Taiwanese dish Lu Rou Fan 滷肉飯 falls squarely in this category.  In fact, this iconic dish was the basis for Taiwanese Turkey Rice, a favorite bowl I posted around Thanksgiving.  Shreds of turkey garnished each bowl of Lu Rou Fan.  People liked the turkey garnish so much, it got its own gig, Turkey Rice, the spin-off.

Back to Lu Rou Fan.  Season diced pork belly with star anise, cinnamon, and aromatics like garlic, shallots, and ginger,  are braised in a soy sauce and sugar mixture until it is melt-in-your-mouth tender.  Place a generous scoop of the braised pork, half of a hardboiled egg, and greens on top of a bowl of steamed rice.  Grab your spoon and dig in, bowl food is soul food.

After surveying different sites for Lu Rou Fan, my version is a mash-up of recipes I found.  The non-negotiables are pork, ginger, shallots, garlic, and a sauce flavored with star anise, soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine.  Start with pork belly cut into approximately 1/3 inch slices then diced.  Thick slab pork belly can be found in most Asian grocery stores.  I also add ground pork to the diced pork belly for a saucier texture, like a ragu’. Shiitake mushrooms are used to pump up the umami as does dried shrimp.  Shrimp is optional, if you decide to use it, soak and finely mince it before adding.  I have mentioned my lack of affinity for star anise, so I use only one clove and add a cinnamon stick instead.  If you like star anise feel free to use two.  Last but not least…

Pull Out the Instant Pot!

The pressure cooker reduces the effort and time to making Lu Rou Fan, a win-win.  Saute’ pork, add the aromatics and liquid, and 30 minutes later your Lu Rou Fan is ready for the finishing touches.  How easy is that? Make this dish a day in advance to allow the flavors to meld and to chill the Lu Rou.  Skim the solidified fat off before serving.

Finishing Touches

When the pressure cooker is done, release pressure and set the pot to saute bring the pork mixture to a boil, and reduce to desired consistency OR if the sauce is not thick enough, add a cornstarch water mixture to thicken. You want lots of sauce to drizzle on your rice so do not reduce too much.

The star of this dish is the succulent, saucy pork belly dancing on the main stage of rice but there are supporting actors.  Hard-boiled eggs often accompany Lu Rou Fan.  Boil, peel, and place eggs in the pork sauce after it has finished pressure cooking.  While the sauce thickens, the eggs will absorb the color and flavor of the pork.  The eggs will be hard-boiled, so for those who have come to love six-minute ramen eggs-this ain’t it.  Use soft-boiled instead of hard-boiled eggs to add to the sauce for a less-cooked egg.  Or cook six-minute eggs ramen style and use this in place of the hard-boiled eggs.  It’s your bowl of goodness, do what you want.  Serve with greens such as seasoned cucumbers, or steamed bok choy or broccoli.  Garnish with green onions and more fried shallots. YUMMY.

Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice (Lu Rou Fan)

Another Soul Food Bowl, made a little quicker in an Instant Pot. Braised pork belly seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, star anise and shallots. Delicious over rice or noodles. Comfort food.
Course Main Course, Meat
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Lu Rou Fan, Taiwanese Pork Belly Rice
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 1 lb skin-on pork belly diced into 1/3 inch pieces
  • 1/4 lb ground pork
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil or shallot oil
  • 3 slices ginger
  • 2 tbsps shaoxing wine
  • 2 tbsps dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp regular soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup fried shallots or onions
  • 1 shallot, finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped (1.5 tbsp)
  • 1 star anise
  • 2-3 dried shiitake mushrooms soaked until mushrooms are softened, remove from water andnreserve soaking liquid, dice mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp dried shrimps chopped OPTIONAL
  • 1 stick cinnamon or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp rock sugar or brown sugar (30gms rock sugar_
  • 2/3 cup hot water or reserved liquid from mushrooms
  • Soy sauce /salt to taste
  • fried shallots and green onions garnish
  • 2 eggs hardboiled or cooked Ramen style

Instructions

  • Turn on the "sauté" function of the pressure cooker, press "adjust" once to switch to "more" for browning.
  • Once the oil is hot, add pork belly and give it a stir so that it's not sticking to the bottom. Saute' just until pork belly starts to brown, add ground pork. Let pork cook until it loses its pinkness and the liquid evaporates.
  • Add ginger, shallot, garlic, saute briefly before adding soy sauces, Shaoxing wine, cinnamon, star anise, rock sugar, shiitake mushrooms, and fried shallots. Mix it well and add reserved mushroom liquid or hot water. Cover with the lid.
  • Turn on the "manual" function, set the timer to 25 minutes. Allow 10 minutes before release of pressure and opening. Skim off the fatty oil from the top.
  • If the sauce seems too thin, turn on the "sauté" function, and "adjust" to "more" to thicken and darken the pork belly. Saute to desired sauce thickness and color. Season with light soy sauce or salt to taste. Alternatively, taste sauce after opening the pot. If it has enough flavor but is thin, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 2 tbsp water. Add to mixture and bring to a boil to thicken sauce.
  • Ladle the braised pork over rice with some sauce. Top with an egg* and greens of choice. Garnish with green onions and more fried shallots.

Egg

  • Generally, eggs are hardboiled, peeled and added during cooking..which makes a very hard-boiled egg. I like ramen eggs or runny eggs
  • Boil eggs to just past soft boiled stage. See post for link to ramen eggs. Have eggs peeled and ready to go when pork is finished cooking. Add to pork and allow to sit in sauce until you are ready to serve. Cut eggs in half and place 1/2 in each bowl of rice.

Notes

Use skin-on pork belly as the skin becomes tender, juicy and flavorful after absorbing all the flavors from spices and soy sauce. 
Use leaner ground pork (e.g. pork shoulder) as a substitute if the pork belly is too fatty. But really, you don’t need a ton on your rice.  Reduce the cooking time accordingly.  
(Grilled Pork Belly) It’s Gettin’ Hot Out Herre, So Take Out All Your BBQ Toys

(Grilled Pork Belly) It’s Gettin’ Hot Out Herre, So Take Out All Your BBQ Toys

On our trip to South Korea, we spent a lot of time roaming around the various street markets in Seoul.  Rows of stalls filled with hand-cut noodles in light flavorful anchovy broth, crispy mung bean cakes, fishcake, mountains of pickled vegetables and banchan (side dishes), and skewers of chicken, beef, shrimp, and pork grilled to order.  This is the tip of the iceberg for all things yummy.  Leading to sensory overload on all fronts, smell, sight, touch, and taste.

At Gwanjang Market we stopped for Mandu and delicious noodles at the very stall featured in Netflix’s Street Food.  If you ever visit Seoul, put this on your gotta-visit list, Gwanjang Market is the Disneyland of street food.

Grillin and Chillin

Summer has arrived in California, and with temps rising it is time to take cookin’ outside.  Inspired by the street food on our recent trip.  I head to the Korean market to grab some sliced pork belly and banchan, the perfect antidote for the heat.

Thick-cut pork belly is readily available in Asian markets.  If you can’t find it, opt for pork shoulder or butt, sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces.  The marinade is a mash-up of two recipes, one from A Common Table (current fan fav!) for Pork Bulgogi, and the other from the blog, Spice the Plate, for Korean Pan-Fried Pork Belly.

Stir together Gochujang (Korean Pepper Paste), soy, fish sauce, honey, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.  Voila, a spicy, sweet, salty marinade that compliments the pork wonderfully. Finally, pour the marinade on the pork and let it sit for 30 minutes.

marinaded pork belly

Marinade for 30 minutes and fire up the grill.  Cook over direct heat for 4-5 minutes a side.  Garnish with green onions or cilantro and serve.  Serve with a bowl of rice or with lettuce/cabbage leaves to make wraps.  Don’t forget side dishes like cucumber salad, and kimchi.

Korean Style Grilled Pork Belly

Course Main Course, Meat, protein
Cuisine Asian, Korean
Keyword Grilled Pork Belly, Pork Belly
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork belly with or without skin
  • cilantro or green onions for topping optional

Pork belly Marinade

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 1 stalk green onion chopped, substitute 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup grated Asian pear substitute pineapple juice
  • 2 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste Gochujang
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds save 1/2 T for garnish

Pork Belly Marinade Quick and Dirty

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste
  • 2 tablespoon honey
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Combine ingredients for marinade, add pork and set aside for approximately 30 minutes.
  • While pork marinades, preheat grill, adjust to medium-high heat before grilling.
  • Grill over direct heat 4-5 minutes per side.
  • Garnish with cilantro or green onions and a sprinkling of sesame seeds
  • Serve immediately
Rainy Day Eats: Braised Pork Belly ala Instant Pot

Rainy Day Eats: Braised Pork Belly ala Instant Pot

I am a sucker for rice bowls and noodle soups, especially when the weather turns cold and dreary. There is something comforting about eating out of a bowl. I love sitting by the window watching the falling rain and listening to the blustering wind while holding a bowl of deliciousness.  My Dad’s stew, my Mom’s won ton soup, spicy Thai curry or gooey mac and cheese all come to mind.

Yep, living life one bowl at a time.

Japanese braised pork belly, Buta Kakuni falls neatly into this scenario.  Simmered in soy sauce, sake and sugar, the pork becomes so tender it melts in your mouth and has that sweet salty flavor that I love.  It is rich and flavorful, so a little goes a long way.  Grab a good sized bowl, add a big scoop of steamy hot rice, lay 2-3 pieces of the pork on top and drizzle the braising liquid over it.  Serve with a ramen style soft boiled egg and vegetables.  Yep, a bowl of rockin’ goodness.

Normally, this dish takes a couple of hours to make, but thanks to the Instantpot, you’ll be sitting down to eat in less than an hour.

pork belly ingredients

This recipe is adapted from the blog Just One Cookbook, another favorite for Asian recipes. Slab pork belly can be found in most Asian markets or ask your butcher to save you a piece.  If time is tight, you can forego browning the pork, but I think it does add flavor and color.  Reduce the Mirin to 1/4 cup and increase the sake to 1/2 cup to cut the sweetness. The recipe calls for adding soft boiled eggs to the pork to finish cooking.  Instead, cool the braising liquid and put the peeled soft boiled eggs in to seep overnight a la ramen style eggs. Love oozy runny egg yolks.  Feel free to follow the recipe or try Serious Eats’s recipe for ramen eggs, both are delicious!

This is classic comfort food.  I stir-fried some shredded cabbage and onions with the braising liquid as an accompaniment.  Another option is a super simple Asian Cucumber Salad. The crisp cucumbers provide a nice contrast to the soft pork. Plus, it’s nice to get some veggies in for a “well-rounded” bowl.

Enjoy!

PRESSURE COOKER PORK BELLY (KAKUNI)

Braised Pork Belly in a fraction of the time with an Instant Pot.  Delicious with a bowl of rice or ramen. 
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword Instant Pot, Pork Belly

Equipment

  • Instant Pot or pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • 3 green onions/scallions use only the green parts
  • 1 inch ginger
  • 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil vegetable or canola
  • 2 lb pork belly block 2 lb = 907 g
  • Water for cooking pork belly
  • 4 soft/hard boiled eggs See Notes
  • Shichimi Togarashi Japanese seven spice (for taste, optional)
  • Chinese Mustard

Seasonings

  • 1/2 cup sake 1/2 cup = 120 ml
  • ½ cup water ½ cup = 120 ml
  • 1/4 cup mirin 1/4 cup = 60 ml
  • ½ cup soy sauce ½ cup = 120 ml
  • ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup = 50 g

Instructions

  • Cut pork into 1-inch pieces
  • Peel and cut ginger into slices.  Using the green part only, cut scallions into 2 inch segments
  • Switch Instant Pot to Saute' function and add oil to pot.  When the oil is hot, add pork and brown (3-5 minutes).  Add water to pot to cover the pork.  Add green onions and ginger to pot.
  • Cover Instant Pot and seal, make sure the knob is set to sealing.  Cancel saute' function and set function on stew/meat (35 minutes)
  • When the pork is finished, carefully vent to quick release pressure.  Drain pork.  Add seasoning ingredients to the Instant Pot and return pork to pot.  Add soft boiled eggs to pot unless seasoning them separately.  See notes.
  • Seal and set pot on stew/meat function and set time to 10 minutes.  When finished, quick release vent pot.  
  • Remove pork and eggs from pot. Taste the seasoning liquid, if it seems to dilute, set pot on saute' and reduce.  Reserve sauce for serving.
  • Serve pork and eggs over rice or ramen. Garnish with Shichimi Togarashi.  Drizzle sauce over rice and serve with mustard. Enjoy.

Notes

If you don't have Mirin, increase Sake to 3/4 cup and add 1 tablespoon sugar.  If you like a soft runny egg, do not put it in the Instant Pot to cook.  Cook your eggs separately. You can cool the cooking liquid and place the peeled soft boiled eggs in the liquid to seep for a couple of hours or overnight.  You do not have to seep the eggs.  You can serve the eggs in your rice bowl drizzled with the cooking liquid and sprinkled with seaweed seasonings (furikake) if you want.
 

Pickled Obsession (Pork and Kimchi)

Pickled Obsession (Pork and Kimchi)

My last trip to the Hankook Korean Supermarket, I took the plunge. Yep, finally bit the bullet and bought a BIG jar of Kimchi.  No more little pint size containers for me.  I didn’t go completely crazy and get the gallon size, although I thought about it for a fleeting moment since it was on sale, lol.  I refrained and prudently bought a quart size jar.

The question running through your brain right now, which Kimchi did she buy? Am I right?  Lucky for you I did the exhaustive, backbreaking, mentally draining research-so you don’t have to.  I stood in the Kimchi section of HMart for an hour, watching which Kimchi customers were buying and then I repeated this at Hankook Market (much to Hubster’s chagrin).  I also “interrogated” my friends and forced them to reveal their favorite Kimchi.  Okay, I just texted them and they replied, consensus was Ocinet or Tobagi brands were good.  So there I was in Hankook Market, upgrading to the quart size jar of Kimchi by Ocinet. 

With a large jar of kimchi to consume, I searched for quick and easy Kimchi dishes to try.  I scored big time when I found a Pork Belly Kimchi recipe on the blog, Spice the Plate.  The kitchen gods were smiling on me, I had sliced pork belly, kimchi and Gochujang in the fridge, didn’t even need to make a grocery run.  This dish literally comes together in minutes. While the rice is cooking, you have plenty of time to prep, cook and plate the Pork and Kimchi.

Pork and Kimchi ingredients

The pork is marinaded in Gochujang, soy sauce and a touch of sugar.  While the pork marinades, thinly slice a yellow onion, grab some kimchi and slice the bigger pieces into strips.  A couple of minutes of stir-frying, garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions to make it pretty, voila’ dinner is served.  This pork and kimchi dish hits the spot, spicy with a touch of sweetness from the Gochujang, heat and crunch from the kimchi, and a bit of nuttiness from the sesame oil. This is “party in my mouth” food.  Delicious and soooo easy.

Stir-fried pork and kimchi

I managed to pop a taste in my mouth before heading out for a meeting, pretty yummy.  I foolishly thought I’ll have some when I get home.  When I got home, the bowl was empty and my kid, a sheepish grin plastered on his face, gave me the two thumbs up. Consolation I guess.

Good thing I bought a big jar of Kimchi.  To help you pick your own bottle of pickled goodness, Serious Eats also reviewed Kimchi which you can find here.

Update:

I love this simple, homey dish and it has become part of my regular rotation.  Starting with ingredients like kimchi, Japanese curry blocks or Thai Curry pastes are such a boon to homecooks.  A flavorful meal in minutes!

Added cellophane or bean thread noodles to this dish to give it even a little more “oomph” without adding more pork.  Bean thread noodles are made of mung bean and once cooked are transparent, and are absolute flavor magnets.

A Deep Dive On This Thread

Cellophane Noodles are found in just about every Asian cuisine, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai…you get the picture. The confusion begins with labeling. Bean thread noodles, glass noodles, and vermicelli refer to noodles made of mung bean or sweet potato. BUT the term vermicelli noodles are also used for thin rice noodles.    Both come dry and look very similar.

On the left is bean thread noodles made of mung bean.  Hydrate them in water and they turn transparent.  On the right, once hydrated rice noodles or vermicelli are opaque white.  If you have had pho or Pad Thai, the noodles are made of rice.   Hawaiian Long Rice (don’t get me started), or Korean Japchae, the noodles are made of mung bean.  I could be wrong, but most Cantonese dishes use glass noodles not rice noodles.

Stir-Fry Pork and Kimchi

Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Keyword stir-fry pork and kimchi
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound kimchi larger pieces cut into strips
  • 1/2 pound pork belly sliced (or pork shoulder or butt would work also)
  • 1/2 yellow onion thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
  • Toasted white sesame seeds

Marinade for the pork:

  • 1 tablespoon Korean hot pepper paste Gochujang
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce Kikkoman is fine
  • ½ teaspoon sugar

Instructions

  • Marinate the pork with Korean hot pepper paste, soy sauce and sugar for about 10 minutes.
  • Heat oil over medium high heat, stir-fry the onion for about 3 minutes until soft and browned.
  • Add the pork and cook for 3-4 minutes until pork loses pinkness.
  • Add in the kimchi and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
  • Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with toasted white sesame seeds and green onions.
  • Serve with rice

Notes

I had some tteobokki (rice cakes)so I threw those in too. Yummy