Taiwanese Braised Pork (滷肉)

This summer, I guess I am on a trend of making Chinese/Taiwanese food. Sometimes it is great to go back and cook food that is my culture, such as going back to play the original Starcraft for several hours. Not to mention, the food is beyond delicious.

When I am in Taiwan, braise pork (滷肉: lu rou) is found in many households and also severed in many lunchboxes. It is quite simple to make in a large quantity enough to last you for several years like how instant ramen can last an engineer for his 4-5 years as an undergrad.

Taiwanese Braised Pork (滷肉)

Ingredients
1 lb Ground pork
5 Shittake mushrooms
1/2 inch Ginger
2 Green onions
4 cloves Garlic
1/3 cup Fried shallots
1 tbs Rock sugar
1 tbs Dark brown sugar
1/3 cup Rice wine
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1 cup Water
1 tsp Asian five spice powder

Prep work of mass cutting
1. Dice garlic.
2. Dice mushrooms
3. Slice ginger into three pieces
4. Slice green onion stalks into 1 inch pieces

Cooking to make your apartment smell
1. Heat a pot with a little bit of oil.
2. Toss in the garlic, ginger, and ground pork.
3. Stir the meat until all sides look like it is about half cooked.
4. Add in fried shallots, five spice powder, and brown sugar and mix well to incorporate evenly
5. Cook for additional 1-2 minutes.
6. Add in the rest of the liquid components and rock sugar, and stir well.
7. Add enough water to cover the meat (should be about 1 cup or more).
8. Cook covered for 1-2 hours.
9. Taste to see if it is flavorful, add more soy sauce if there isn't enough flavor and more water if it is too salty.