Taiwanese minced pork on rice

I only recently ate this dish for the first time and after a bit of research I found it was known as “Taiwanese minced pork on rice” or “rou zhao fan”.

For the recipe I made a modified version of Cooking in Chinglish . This version seemed to be the closest in terms of flavour to the one I ate previously. Other variants of the recipe sometimes use 5 spice powder and shiitake mushrooms.

I serve the minced pork just like I ate it for the first time. With a marinated egg and stir-fried vegetables. Together it makes an easy and flavourful meal.

Fried shallots

One of the hacks I use for the recipe is Bull Head Shallot sauce instead of fried shallots. These come in glass jars or in resealable tins. You can not replace this sauce with onion chutney, which has a completely different taste. Chutney is usually quite sweet with a hint of vinegar. The shallot sauce does not have a typical fried onion taste, is quite oily, savory and slightly smoky.

If you can’t find or want to use the sauce, you could fry some shallots or use store bought fried shallots (preferably without flour) as a quick hack.

Shallot sauce is also delicious with fried rice, eggs, ramen, congee or over gyoza with some chili crisp for spice.

Minced pork

This dish is normally made with minced pork. You can use chicken as a good alternative to pork although I have seen recipes mention you could use beef as well. I prefer the slightly more neutral flavour of chicken for this.

Materials used

• Heavy (frying) pan with lid
• measuring spoons
• Zipper bags for the eggs
• Cutting board
• chef’s knife

Can you prepare this dish in advance?

You can easily make this dish ahead of time. Let the meat cool completely at room temperature and store in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat it a frying pan with a little extra water to prevent it from becoming too dry.

Marinated eggs can be stored for 2 to 3 days and can be made well in advance.

Stir-fried vegetables are best cooked just before serving. It is best to start with these while letting the prepared mince pork rest.

Marinated eggs

For the marinated eggs I followed the Ramen Eggs recipe from Just One Cookbook.

Take a saucepan and add 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 4 tablespoons of mirin, 4 tablespoons of sake and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Bring to the boil while stirring and let it bubble for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Bring a pan with plenty of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Use a slotted spoon or ladle to lower 4 large eggs (directly from the fridge) into the water. Boil the eggs for 7 minutes for runny soft eggs and 8 minutes for slightly firmer “jammy” eggs. Shock the eggs in (ice) cold water.

Peel the eggs and put them in a zipper bag along with the cooled marinade, store in the refrigerator. By marinating them in a bag, the eggs remain submerged more easily. Marinate the eggs for at least 8 hours.

Shanghai bok choy

Wash 2 Shanghai bok choy and cut the ends off. Cut from the bottom upwards into pieces about 3 cm high, keeping the sturdy stem parts separate from the leafy top part. The bottom parts need to cook a little longer than the leaves.

Take a frying pan with a lid and place over medium to high heat with 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Wok the stem parts in the oil for about a minute and add 3 tablespoons of water. Put the lid on the pan and let the bok choy steam for about 2 minutes.

Remove the lid and add the leafy parts. Stir-fry until the leaves have wilted slightly. Add 2-3 tablespoons of (vegetarian) oyster sauce and mix through.

Taiwanese minced pork on rice

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 5 min Cooking Time: 35 min 35 min

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

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Ingredients

For the pork

• 300g minced pork or chicken
• 2 tbsp flavourless cooking oil, sunflower oil
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp (vegetarian) oyster sauce, LKK vegetarian stir-fry sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• Pinch of white pepper
• 3 tbsp Bull head shallot sauce
• ½ cup water

To serve

• Steamed rice for 2
• 2 ramen eggs or boiled eggs
• Stir fried vegetables, Shanghai bok choy

Instructions

Place a heavy-bottomed pan with 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add 300 grams of minced pork breaking up the meat with a spatula while it cooks. No need to brown the meat, just cook through.

Add 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce , 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce , 1 tablespoon of vegetarian oyster sauce , 2 tablespoons of sugar , a pinch of white pepper and 3 tablespoons of shallot sauce . Stir well and cover the pan with a lid.

Simmer on low heat for 15 minutes . Stir well and add a little water if the pan becomes too dry. Put the lid back on and let it simmer for another 15 minutes and remove from the heat. If you have time, leave the minced pork covered for another 30 minutes.

Serve on rice with a marinated egg and stir-fried Shanghai bok choy.

Notes

You can skip the marinated egg and use a (soft) boiled or fried egg.

To substitute Bull Head Shallot sauce, you can fry a couple of shallots or use 3-4 tablespoons of store bought fried onions (preferably those without flour).

Buy small Shanghai bok choy. These are more flavourful. 

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