NON-HALAL: Technically, Taiwanese food is Chinese food, but Taiwanese cooking has its own interpretations of similar dishes with an array of unique concoctions not found in mainland China.
Braised meat dishes – mostly pork, slowly simmered in a soy sauce mixture and then served over rice with some pickled vegetable and soy sauce eggs – are popular in Taiwan. And the most popular is probably this Taiwanese braised pork belly rice.
Many people hesitate to prepare this dish at home, believing that it is tedious and the recipe is hard to follow. That is a huge misconception as it only takes a couple of sauces, a few ingredients in a pot and the end result is a complete, satisfying meal.
Ingredients
• 450 g pork belly
• 1 litre water
• 1 cassia/cinnamon stick
• 1 piece star anise
• 60 ml Mizkan Oigatsuo Tsuyu Bonito Flavoured Soup Base, No MSG
• 4 tablespoons mirin, Mizkan Honteri
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
• Some Chinese pickled mustard green, roughly chopped (optional)
• Coriander leaves to garnish
Method
• Rinse the pork belly thoroughly with water. Cut the skin off and divide the meat into eight pieces, each with a thickness of 2.5cm.
• Bring the litre of water to a boil before adding the pork, cassia/cinnamon stick and star anise. Turn the heat to low and add the Mizkan Oigatsuo Tsuyu Bonito Flavoured Soup Base, Mizkan Honteri Mirin, dark soy sauce and hard-boiled eggs. Cover and slowly braise the pork belly until tender for 60 to 90 minutes.
• Take four bowls of steamed rice and place two slices of the pork belly on top with a hard-boiled egg (sliced in half). Drizzle with some of the braising liquid and garnish with pickled mustard green, coriander leaves and serve immediately.
Tips
- If you don’t eat pork, make this recipe with chicken thighs and/or chicken drumsticks.
- Replacing the usual soy sauce and sugar with Mizkan Oigatsuo Tsuyu Bonito Flavoured Soup Base (no MSG) and Mizkan Honteri Mirin will add a new level of deliciousness.
- When shopping for the Mizkan Oigatsuo Tsuyu Bonito Flavoured Soup Base (no MSG), check for the green label. The red label has MSG.
This recipe first appeared in Rasa Malaysia.
Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.