Taiwanese minced pork rice

Taiwanese minced pork rice is a traditional homestyle dish that's comforting, easy and full of flavor. It's savory, with a slight sweetness and wonderfully easy to eat. A tasty meal perfect for any night.

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Ground pork/pork mince is something I use often as it's versatile and can add such great flavor and richness to a whole range of dishes. I use it for Bolognese, to make pork larb and it's mixed in with beef in a whole range of meatballs like Greek keftedes and Swedish kottbullar.

This Taiwanese minced pork sauce, rou zhao fan, is another lovely easy way to use it with relatively few ingredients but lots of great flavor. It takes a little time to cook but the actual hands on cooking is very minimal. And it's well worth the wait to enjoy.

Chinese braised pork dishes

Braising meat in an aromatic liquid is a common technique in Chinese cooking and I can completely understand why. The end result is meat that's really tender and flavorful.

Though it can work with other meats, as in Taiwanese three cup chicken, pork is definitely a popular choice for the added richness. A few dishes can seem similar, but there are differences.

One of the best known is hong shao rao which has some similarities to this. However the proportions of the braising liquids are a bit different and it uses larger pieces of pork belly. Also, it has no fried shallots and instead aromatics like ginger in the liquid.

This Taiwanese braised pork sauce can be made with both pork belly or, as here, ground pork (pork mince). As you may tell from above, it includes fried shallots in the sauce to give added flavor, but is otherwise relatively simple

There are two dishes that are very similar using pork belly, fried shallots in a soy and wine braise with slight differences. Rou zhou fan is generally the Southern Taiwanese name and can often be made with ground pork, or finely cut pork belly.

Lu rou fan usually has more aromatics and added shitake mushrooms and more often larger pieces of pork belly. However both dishes can vary and some consider them much the same.

Here I've made it more in the rou zhou fan style, keeping things simple but still delicious. I've drawn on a few recipes, in particular this Cooking in Chinglish recipe and this Yi Reservation recipe.

Ingredients in Taiwanese braised minced pork sauce

This dish uses a relative short list which are easy to find, if not in your regular store then in an Asian supermarket:

• Ground pork - while you can, if you like, finely chop pork belly instead, ready ground pork/pork mince is a whole lot easier and still really tasty.
• Fried shallots - you can buy ready-made fried shallots in most Asian supermarkets. Or, you can make them yourself - it's relatively easy and you can make them ahead. The key is to stop before they get too dark, and make sure they drain well to get crisp.
• Soy sauce - Taiwanese soy sauce is apparently a little closer to Japanese than typical Chinese soy sauce, which is why I used Japanese here. But Chinese-style light soy would also work.
• Dark soy sauce - this is a little darker, as the name implies, and slightly sweeter. A mix of both gives a balance of flavor and color.
• Shaoxing cooking wine - this adds flavor and is common mixed in with soy in a number of Chinese/Taiwanese braised dishes.
• Chinese five spice - this is a common seasoning blend typically combining fennel, star anise, cinnamon, szechuan pepper and cloves. It adds a lovely aromatic flavor.
• White pepper - this gives a little extra flavor and earthiness.
• Rock sugar/sugar - rock sugar is more traditional but more refined white sugar also works. It helps balance the saltiness of the soy.

Other than if you make your own fried shallots, there's no chopping required, so it's a really hands-off dish to make. It does require a little checking as it cooks, just to make sure it doesn't get dry, but otherwise all you really need is patience.

And it's worth being that bit patient as the cooking time helps the flavors work their way into the meat. The end result has a lovely depth of flavor that's rich and delicious.

How to serve the pork sauce

As the name suggests, this pork sauce is most typically served over rice but you can also serve it with noodles, or simply with some vegetables.

The pork is relatively rich so simple green vegetables pair particularly well to cut through that. Some blanched bok choy or broccoli would work well. It also works really well with some Taiwanese pickled cucumber, as I served here, which is another common choice as a side.

This is a great dish to make the braised pork in bulk and freeze some for a quick and easy meal another time. Simply defrost and reheat, adding a little water if needed if it seems a little dry.

This Taiwanese minced pork rice is a great easy dish, perfect for any night, but with lots of tasty flavor. You can vary how you serve it, and it's great for making extra ahead to enjoy all over again soon.

Try these other tasty pork dishes:

• Chashu pork - another one that has some waiting but is easy to make, great for ramen and more.
• Schweinebraten - a tasty German-style braise/roast with lovely savory flavors.
• Lemon pork meatballs - another tasty use of ground pork, with the lemon adding brightness and cutting through the richness.
• Plus get more main dish recipes and Chinese recipes (including Taiwanese) in the archives.

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