Taiwanese minced pork and rice

Do you get stuck in a food rut?  Making the same old tried and tested recipes week in and week out?  As much as you may love those foods, it gets boring to eat the same food every week.  I have recently found myself being caught in this trap and decided it was time to try one new recipe a week.  Nothing too complicated as time is always short during weekdays and also any new recipe has to be family friendly too.  So when I came across this Taiwanese minced pork recipe that sounded interesting, I decided to give it a go.  It turned out to be yummy with bags of flavour and has already become a regular in our mid-week menu.  And it also freezes really well so I usually make two meals worth which is what I’ve given you quantities for below.

TAIWANESE MINCED PORK AND RICE
Serves: 8

900 gms minced pork
1-1½ tbs sunflower or vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves minced
2 star anise
2 bay leaves (dried is fine)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoons sugar
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
4-5 tbs cooking wine
2 tbs dark soy sauce
4-5 tbs regular soy sauce
600ml chicken stock (shop bought is fine)
80gms fried shallots and a bit extra for garnishing*
3 spring onions finely sliced
One fried egg per person

*For the fried shallots, the easiest option is to get them ready fried from an Asian supermarket.  If not then finely slice and deep fry the shallots till they are crispy.

Start by heating the oil over a medium heat.  Add the garlic and quickly stir for about a minute making sure it doesn’t burn.  Add in the minced pork and turn the heat to high.  Cook the pork, stirring and breaking up any large bits until all the meat is browned.

Now add the sugar, pepper, five spice, star anise and bay leaves to the minced pork and give it a very good mix.  Next add the cooking wine and bring to a boil.  Let the wine bubble for a couple of minutes and then add both the soy sauces and the chicken stock.  Bring back to the boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover and leave to cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add in the shallots and stir everything really well.  Then cover and leave to cook for another hour – stirring occasionally.  Once the sauce has thickened and the pork has become really soft, it’s done.

When you’re ready to eat, fry the eggs – one per person.  Pile up a bowl with rice and top with the pork.  The pork is very flavourful so a little goes a long way.  Place the fried egg on top and I like to add some steamed green beans to the dish as this then makes a complete meal – but you can add any veg you have in the fridge.  Serve the dish with the chopped spring onions and fried shallots for everyone to use as a garnish.

This Taiwanese minced pork dish doesn’t only freeze really well but you can also make the pork several hours in advance and just heat when you’re ready to eat so it makes a great prepare in advance dish for when you have friends over too.  And once all piled up in a bowl it tastes delicious and looks so pretty too.

I got the idea for this dish while googling recipes with minced pork.  There were two recipes that stood out for me and so I kind of created my own version using these two recipes as a guide: 1 and 2.

*I’ve linked up to honest mum’s tasty tuesdays.