卤肉饭 is the bowl that made Taiwanese food famous around the world: small cubes of pork belly braised until they turn glossy and almost jammy, spooned over steamed rice with a soy-stained egg on the side. This xiachufang version is a home cook’s take that gets the whole thing into one pot with nine steps, and it borrows from two traditions at once — the Taiwanese fried shallot (油葱酥) base and the northern Chinese habit of braising with whole spices and a can of beer.
The details that make it work: the onion is fried slowly into crisp shallots and lifted out, so their sweetness seasons the oil; the pork belly is diced small so it breaks down in an hour; rehydrated shiitake soaking liquid goes in instead of plain water; and the eggs are boiled soft, then pan-fried into tiger-skin blisters before they join the pot. A spoon of apple vinegar and a handful of hawthorn slices cut the richness. Serve it over rice, with pickles on the side.
What Is Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (卤肉饭)?
卤肉饭 (lu rou fan) is a Taiwanese rice bowl of finely diced pork belly braised in soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and fried shallots until the sauce is thick and the meat is tender. It is spooned over plain rice and usually topped with a braised egg and pickled vegetables.
Two things separate a good 卤肉饭 from a bowl of soy-braised pork. First, the meat is cut into small dice rather than left in chunks, so the collagen melts and the sauce turns silky rather than thin. Second, the fried shallots (油葱酥) are the backbone of the flavor — this recipe makes them from scratch by frying diced purple onion until deep gold, which is a shortcut for the traditional shallot.
If you love this style of slow-braised pork, my red-braised pork belly with fermented bean curd is the mainland cousin of this bowl.
1Plum-Braised Ribs (Hua Mei Pai Gu): The Sweet-Sour Umeboshi GlazePlum-braised ribs: pork ribs blanched and braised with preserved sour plums, soy, wine, and aromatics until tender, then reduced to a glossy sweet-sour glaze – the plum twist on the red braise.Check out this recipe
Why This Recipe Works
- Small dice makes the sauce silky. Half-inch cubes of pork belly melt into the braise in about an hour, thickening it naturally.
- Fried shallots build the base flavor. Frying diced onion to a deep gold in the oil seasons everything that follows.
- Shiitake soaking water is the braising liquid. It carries the mushroom’s savory depth into the sauce instead of being thrown away.
- Beer adds malt sweetness and body. A whole can replaces water and gives the sauce a rounded, slightly caramel edge.
- Hawthorn and apple vinegar cut the fat. Both are classic Chinese braising moves to keep a rich pork dish from feeling heavy.
Equipment Needed
- Heavy pot or Dutch oven
- Small pan for frying the shallots
- Spice bag or strainer for whole spices
Ingredients
- 1 kg (2.2 lb) pork belly, diced small
- 1-2 purple onions, diced (for the fried shallots)
- 12 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, soaking water reserved
- 8 eggs
- 4 slices ginger, smashed
- 2 star anise, 4 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 pieces dried tangerine peel, 4-6 hawthorn slices, 2 dried chilies
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or baijiu)
- 1 tbsp apple vinegar
- A handful of rock sugar
- 1 can beer
- Oil for frying
Ingredient Notes
Pork belly. Skin-on belly cut into small dice gives the best texture; the cook notes it is fine to skip blanching if the meat is washed well.
Dried shiitake. Soak, dice, and keep the water — it becomes the braising liquid.
Hawthorn slices (山楂). A classic braising addition that tenderizes the meat and balances the fat with a gentle tartness.
Beer. Any lager or ale works; it replaces plain water for a maltier sauce.
Prep & Mise en Place
Dice the pork belly and onion. Soak the shiitake until soft, then dice and reserve the soaking water. Boil the eggs to seven-minute soft set, shock them in cold water, peel, and fry them in oil until blistered — the tiger-skin finish. Rinse the whole spices and smash the ginger. Have the spice bag or a fine strainer ready so the spices can be lifted out at the end.
Cooking Process
Step 1 — Prep Everything
Dice the pork belly and onion; soak and dice the shiitake; boil, peel, and tiger-skin the eggs; rinse the whole spices; slice and smash the ginger.
Step 2 — Fry the Shallots
Heat oil and fry the diced onion over medium heat until it turns deep gold, then lift out the fried shallots.
Step 3 — Brown the Pork
In the shallot oil, fry the smashed ginger until light gold, add the diced pork belly, and cook until the surface loses its pink and picks up some color. Add the diced shiitake and the fried shallots and stir.
Step 4 — Add Wine and Mushroom Water
Splash in the Shaoxing wine, stir, then pour in the reserved shiitake soaking water.
Step 5 — Season
Add the light soy, dark soy, apple vinegar, and rock sugar.
Step 6 — Add the Whole Spices
Add the star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, dried tangerine peel, hawthorn, and chilies — tied in a spice bag or tea strainer if you have one, so they lift out cleanly later.
Step 7 — Beer In, Simmer 50-60 Minutes
Pour in the can of beer (or hot water) so the liquid sits about one finger above the meat. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 50-60 minutes.
The fried shallots are the soul of 卤肉饭. Frying them yourself — slowly, over medium heat, until they are the color of dark honey — is what gives the sauce its sweetness and its perfume. Buy them pre-fried if you must, but you will taste the difference: homemade shallots smell like toasted onion and butter, while the packaged ones taste like oil and salt.
Step 8 — Add the Tiger-Skin Eggs
About 30 minutes into the simmer, add the fried eggs so they take on the braise without overcooking.
Step 9 — Reduce and Serve Over Rice
When the simmering time is up, raise the heat briefly to reduce the sauce to your liking, then spoon it over steamed rice. The cook notes it also makes an excellent filling for a Chinese flatbread.
Common Mistakes When Making Braised Pork Rice
1. The sauce is thin and greasy. Cause: the meat was cut too large or the simmer was too short. Fix: dice the belly small and give it the full hour so the collagen thickens the sauce.
2. The shallots taste bitter. Cause: frying over high heat. Fix: medium heat and pull them the moment they turn deep gold.
3. The dish is too salty. Cause: light soy plus dark soy plus reducing. Fix: season to taste before the final reduction, then reduce and check again.
4. The eggs are rubbery. Cause: boiling hard or adding them too early. Fix: seven-minute eggs, tiger-skinned, added at the 30-minute mark.
5. The spices overwhelm the pork. Cause: spices left in for the whole cook. Fix: bag them and lift them out before reducing.
Variations
With chicken or a mix. Substitute half the pork with chicken thigh for a lighter bowl.
Faster. Use a pressure cooker for 25 minutes, then reduce on the stovetop.
Extra toppings. Add pickled mustard greens, or a spoon of tea eggs instead of tiger-skin eggs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What cut of pork should I use? Skin-on pork belly gives the best texture; a mix of belly and shoulder is a common home shortcut.
Can I skip the beer? Yes — hot water works, but the beer adds malt sweetness that rounds out the soy.
Do I have to fry the shallots? It is the single biggest flavor upgrade in the recipe; if short on time, use good-quality store-bought fried shallots.
How long does it keep? Three days in the fridge, or three months frozen; it tastes even better the next day.
Is it spicy? Not noticeably — the two dried chilies add fragrance rather than heat.
How to Serve
Spoon the pork and sauce over hot rice with a tiger-skin egg on top. Around the bowl, serve pickled cucumbers or mustard greens, and consider Wenzhou braised pork, braised pork ribs with eggs, rice cooker beef rice, mushroom chicken clay pot rice, one-pot pork ribs and rice, and mei cai kou rou if you are feeding a crowd.
Storage & Reheat
Refrigerate the braise with the eggs for up to 3 days; the flavor deepens overnight. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat gently with a splash of water, and re-steam fresh rice to serve.
Allergen Notice
Contains soy, wheat (soy sauce), egg, and barley or wheat (beer).
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
About the Author & Recipe Development
I am Lin, and I grew up in my parents’ restaurant kitchen in Chengdu. 卤肉饭 was never on our menu — it came to me later, through friends from Taipei and a long-running argument about whether the shallots should be onion or real shallot. This xiachufang recipe settled the argument for me: fried purple onion, small dice, and a spice bag you can lift out. I tested it twice, once without the hawthorn and once with, and the hawthorn version was noticeably cleaner-tasting — less heavy, and the sauce had a brightness I could not get otherwise. The tiger-skin eggs are worth the extra five minutes.
Authoritative References
USDA Safe Temperature Chart for cooking pork safely, and FDA cold storage guidance for leftovers.
Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (卤肉饭): The 6-Step Comfort Bowl
Equipment
- Heavy pot or Dutch oven
- Small Frying Pan
- Spice bag
Ingredients
For the Braise
- 2.2 lb pork belly, diced small 1 kg
- 2 purple onions, diced for the fried shallots
- 12 dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrated, soaking water reserved
- 8 eggs
- 4 slices ginger, smashed
- 2 star anise
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 pieces dried tangerine peel
- 5 slices hawthorn slices
- 2 dried chilies
- 4 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp apple vinegar
- 1 handful rock sugar
- 1 can beer or hot water
Instructions
- Dice the pork belly and onion; soak and dice the shiitake; boil, peel, and fry the eggs; rinse the spices; smash the ginger.
- Fry the diced onion over medium heat until deep gold, then remove the fried shallots.
- Fry the ginger in the shallot oil, add the pork belly and brown, then add the shiitake and fried shallots.
- Add the Shaoxing wine, then the reserved mushroom soaking water.
- Add the light soy, dark soy, apple vinegar, and rock sugar.
- Add the whole spices, bagged so they can be lifted out later.
- Pour in the beer so the liquid covers the meat by a finger; boil, then simmer 50-60 minutes.
- Add the tiger-skin eggs about 30 minutes into the simmer.
- Reduce the sauce if needed and spoon over steamed rice.
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