Taiwanese street food festival 台味食煮 - Day 8- Pork Stew Rice ：Kong Rou Fan 焢肉飯

Nostalgia happens without reason. Perhaps because of one humming melody, a particular scene, upcoming holiday or familiar cooking smell comes from neighbor (which rarely happen in my case :)), or just a simple blink of eye, the feeling brings you home. 

Home-made Pork belly with garlic soy sauce

I haven't tried to buy meat in the butcher store in the Netherlands until last weekend. I felt nervous thinking about they gonna ask me what I want in Dutch in front of bunch of flushing meat which I do not have time to digest the information in time. Company with my boyfriend, I could flip those worries behind and let him do the talking. I know he craves for pork belly from time to time and that was exactly what caught his eyes. Whenever comes to pork belly, I think of my dad, a big fan of pork belly dishes, from simply cutting in slices after boiling in the water and dipping into garlic soy sauce, to savory addictive pork stew.

Pork stew rice (Kong Rou Fan 焢肉飯) is another typical Taiwanese street foods that calls millions of people living or traveling far home. It is literally pork belly braised in soy sauce and fragrant spices. The best part is the savory-sweet combination seduces the taste buds with different levels of enjoyment. The smooth fat melting in the mouth flows in gorgeous warmness, with pleasant texture and satisfaction providing by tender lean meat . It is served with braised dried bamboo shoot or daikon pickle as a refreshment to balance the richness of meat after continuously generous bites. Lots of people cannot resist this delish street food, especially the skin part.

Pork stew rice with dried bamboo shoot

Pork stew rice with daikon pickle

Since pork belly is a "treasure" ingredient on our shopping list, nothing will be better to make a home pork stew to give my boyfriend a content, proper meal. The most important is the charming flavorous stew sauce is the magic component for multi-dishes in my favorite recipes. Traditionally, it takes 2-3 hours simmering on the heat, however, it make life much easier by cooking with a rice cooker. The tiny disappointment for the pork belly we bought is out of skin. You do not want to miss the most amazing part of this dish, DO KEEP IN MIND, use pork belly with skin for this recipe and be prepared to get addicted to another Taiwanese street food.

 

Pork belly:
Ingredients:
1. 4-6 peices pork belly (better with skin), cut into 5-8 cm long
2. Handful green leave veggie (typically we use pok-choy, endive or spinach will be as good as pok-choy)
3. 1 medium ginger (about two thumbed size), sliced
4. 1 tsp rice wine

Stew Sauce:
Ingredients:
1. 2-3 slices of ginger
2. 3 scallion, cut into 5cm long
3. 1 dried or fresh chili
4. 1 star anise

Seasonings:
1. 2 Tsp ketchup
2. 3 Tsp soy sauce
3. 2 Tsp Shaoxing wine (substitute with rice wine)
4. 1 tsp black pepper powder
5. 150 cc coke
6. 400cc water

Instructions:

1. Boil a pot of water, add ginger and immerse pork belly. Cook for 3-5 mins until pork belly become firm. Remove from the pan and rinse meat with cold water.

2. Prepare stew sauce. Heat a sauce pan with 2 Tsp oil (vegetable oil will be fine) till high heat, add ginger and fry until it bubbles around edge. Add scallion, chili and star anises cook until it aromatic.

 

3. Add ketchup, give a good stir until the sauce become glossy shinny in red. Add soy sauce, black pepper powder and shaoxing wine, cook until it bubbles. Pour in coke and water and cook to a boil.

 

4. Place pork belly with skin down in the rice cooker and pour in the stew sauce. Cook for 1.5 hours (about 2-3 times)*. 

 

5. Heat 1/3 sauce with a sauce pan till gently boil, add green veggie and cook 3 mins until it becomes soft. Remove the veggie and condense sauce till half volume. Pour the sauce over pork belly and serve hot with steamy rice.

Note:

* For people use Ta-tung rice cooker, add 3 cup water for outer pot.

**For people use stew pot, bring to a boil then simmer with lowest heat. Lid on for 2 hours. Stir occasionally.