Frying the onions and garlic gives the braised pork a richer aroma, and the sauce is absolutely perfect for mixing with rice.
For many people, the ultimate comfort food from childhood is simply rice soaked in flavorful broth. Unlike the modern habit of eating rice and dishes separately, this style is all about devouring it in big, satisfying spoonfuls—a few scoops and the bowl is empty, leaving you utterly content and thoroughly satisfied. There's no room for daintiness here. Braised pork rice is the classic elevated version of this concept, with a richer, more concentrated sauce and hearty, savory minced pork. Paired with half a soy-marinated egg and a small dish of bright, tangy pickled vegetables, this seemingly simple meal becomes something truly brilliant.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
500 g (about 1 lb) lean pork belly
For the best flavor, use pork belly with its rich fat content.
Additional Ingredients
15 g (about 1/2 oz) dried shrimp
Seasonings
10 shallots
1 bunch scallions
8 cloves of garlic
Scallions and ginger - a small amount
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) soy sauce
20 g (about 1 1/2 tablespoons) rice wine or Shaoxing wine
3 g salt
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) sugar
2 star anise
3 pieces of licorice root
Dried shallots add aroma to the braised pork rice; if unavailable, substitute with half an onion.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Slice the shallots, cut the scallions into long sections, split the garlic cloves in half, and finely chop the dried shrimp for later use (see Figure 2).
Step 2: Scrape the skin of the pork belly clean, then rinse thoroughly. Place it in a pot of cold water with a few scallion sections and ginger slices. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and cook for about 10 minutes (Image 3). Remove and cut into small cubes (Image 4).
*Scrape the pork skin to remove any hairs, as they can affect the texture. Dice the pork to your preferred size.
*Boiling the pork in one whole piece helps retain more flavor inside the meat; if you dice it first and then cook, much of the juices and aroma will be lost.
Fried shallots, scallions, and garlic
③ Add plenty of oil to the pot and heat to around 300-350°F (medium-low heat). Add the shallots and fry until golden brown, then remove—these are crispy fried shallots (Image 5). After frying the shallots, fry the scallions in the same oil until dark golden, remove them, then fry the garlic until golden and remove (Image 6).
*When deep-frying these three ingredients, do so in order without mixing up, maintaining the oil temperature at around 350°F (medium heat), adjusting to medium-high or high heat depending on your stove's power—if the oil is too hot, the surface will burn while the inside remains moist, failing to achieve a crispy, aromatic result; if the oil is too cool, you won't get that roasted fragrance either, so control the temperature carefully, and when frying the garlic last, you can slightly increase the oil temperature or raise the heat, since garlic cloves are thick and contain more moisture, making them harder to turn golden without higher heat.
Stir-fry the diced pork until browned.
④ Pour out the oil from the wok, leaving just a thin layer, and heat to medium-low. First, stir-fry the dried shrimp over low heat for about 10 seconds (Image 7), then turn the heat to high, add soy sauce and sugar, and stir-fry until fragrant (Image 8). Next, add the diced pork and stir-fry over high heat for 15 seconds to color the meat (Image 9).
*Dried shrimp should be stir-fried in warm oil over medium-low heat—never use high heat or hot oil, as this will burn them and prevent their flavor from releasing. Once stir-fried, immediately add soy sauce when turning up the heat to high; otherwise, the shrimp will still burn.
Simmer the pork belly in the braising liquid over low heat for about 1 to 1.5 hours, until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened slightly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
⑤ Add rice wine or yellow wine and stir-fry until fragrant, then pour in enough hot water to submerge the meat by about 1 cm (photo 10). Add the fried shallots, scallions, and garlic to the pot (photo 11), then add star anise and licorice root, and finally salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes (photo 12). Serve by spooning the meat and sauce over rice.
*The water should not be too little, as you need some sauce left to mix with the rice, but not too much either, or it will dilute all the meat flavor.
*If you prefer a stronger flavor, you can add a little more dark soy sauce for color, making the dish look more appetizing.
*The cooking time for the meat depends on the size of the diced pork; if the pieces are cut very small, about 20 minutes should be sufficient.
Cooking Notes
Dried shallots are a type of very small onion, but they are a different variety from regular onions. In Taiwan, they are called red shallots, and their flavor is far superior to that of common onions. They are frequently used in Cantonese and Southeast Asian cuisine. If you cannot find dried shallots, regular onions can be used as a substitute.
Rice wine is also a commonly used seasoning in Taiwanese cuisine. If you don't have it, you can substitute with yellow wine or fermented rice juice. Since fermented rice juice is sweet, reduce the amount of white sugar when cooking with it.
Actually, braised pork belly is similar to red-braised pork, with the biggest difference being the seasonings—fried shallots and dried shrimp. The savory umami of dried shrimp gives the braised pork more complex layers of flavor, while the fried shallots and garlic make the overall aroma richer and more intense. If you're tired of red-braised pork, switching it up with this braised pork is a great alternative.