Taiwan (China) – Lu Rou Fan

by Fauzan Anandika

Editor Note: Whether Taiwan is an independent country remains controversial

In a digital era like today, people stick to their gadgets every day. According to the BBC, people spend 2 hours and 24 minutes a day accessing social media. These phenomena become an opportunity for business improvement. Many cafés provide free internet connection for their customer. Connection availability in a hangout place will attract more customers. People also use the internet to make their daily live activity more convenient. They use online platforms that provide online shopping, delivery service, and many other things with an online platform. And the bad news is we need to relocate our budget to pay our phone and internet bills, but not for the Taiwanese people. In Taiwan, people could easily access the internet using free wifi in every public space.

Taiwan is a country located in the Southwest of Japan and also known as the Republic of China. They are known for advanced technology in the electronic sector. Acer and Asus are some of their brands. Despite their technology, they also have a unique traditional event one of the festivals is the Hungry Ghost Festival. This festival is held every day 15th month 7th in the Chinese calendar. For a tourist, your vacation will be an unforgettable moment. There are so many carnivals in every big city in Taiwan. In that carnival, you can also taste their delicious authentic, and the most popular among them is Lu Rou Fan (Braised Pork Over Rice).

Lu Rou Fan is a braised pork meat seasoned with Chinese-authentic spices like dark soy sauce, ngohiong spice, and topped with fried shallot. To cook Lu Rou Fan, you need two different kinds of pork meat, belly meat, and pork arm. Using these two types of pork make Lu Rou Fan broth has a balance in oil and fat.

Before cooking Lu Rou Fan, you need to prepare the ngohiong spice. You can buy it in the market or make it on your own. All you need right now is to follow the recipe below to get the best homemade Lu Rou Fan.

Ngohiong spice ingredient

• 3 cm of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of clove
• 3 pieces of fennel
• 5 piece of star anise
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Ingredient

• 500-gram pork arm
• 250-gram pork belly
• 4 pieces of hard-boiled egg
• 20-gram scallion, finely sliced

Seasoning ingredient

• 4 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
• 5 pieces of shallot, sliced and fried
• ½ teaspoon ngohiong spice
• 1 piece of star anise2 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon of salty soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 4 pieces of rock sugar
• Rice wine

Ngohiong spice preparation

1. Roast all the ingredients with low heat, roast until fragrant.
2. Blend with a food processor.
3. Place it in a dry container.

How to cook

1. Cut all the meat into bite-size.
2. Prepare a frying pan. Fry garlic and star anise until fragrant.
3. Add pork, fry until the color change.
4. Add two tablespoons of rice wine.
5. Add ngohiong spice and fried shallot. Mix well.
6. Add sweet soy sauce, salty soy sauce, and pepper.
7. Add 150 ml of water.
8. Cook until thickened.
9. Add hard-boiled egg. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar.
10. Lu Rou Fan ready to be served with a side of warm rice.