I love eating braised pork belly rice (Lor Bak Peng). I tried many from different Taiwanese Cafes in Singapore and also tried making a different few version using many different recipes from various cookbooks and blogs. I was so satisfied every time I had one until I had the authentic, traditional, famous one in Taiwan – 金峰滷肉飯 (a must to visit when you are in taiwan 金峰魯肉飯) . It is so different from the ones I had before. The pork belly just melted into creamy pork fats the moment it touch my tongue. Basically, I don’t need to chew the pork! I knew there were tons of fats but it just doesn’t feel oily or fatty! That was heaven! and I knew… that was the lor bak peng I should try to achieve.
The secret behind that melt-in-your-mouth lor bak is to braise for longer than usual recipes call for. I used pressure cooker and braised for an hour. You can also use stovetop pot and braised for 2 to 3 hours until the fats melt in your mouth and the meat just fall apart the moment u sink your teeth onto the porkie! For stove top method, more liquid is required as water will evaporate during the simmering process.
You can also add more pork fats in addition to the pork belly for a more creamy lor bak peng!
This recipe also includes recipe for braised lava eggs instead of the traditional hard boil eggs. Marinate the lava eggs in the braised gravy to allow the eggs to absorb the gravy for a minimum to 2 hours. Plan your time accordingly.
The timing for the lava egg is based on egg at room temperature and the size of the egg is about 60g per egg. Remember to bring the eggs to room temperature before cooking if the eggs are in the fridge. Otherwise, increase the timing to 5 mins 30 sec. Size and temperature of the eggs greatly affect the timing of cooking. Very fresh eggs are harder to peel. It will be better to use a 1 to 2 days old eggs.
- 500g Pork Belly (cut into 1 cm in thickness and 1 cm in width)
- 1 piece of preserve/fermented bean curd (南乳)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 400ml water (800ml of water for stovetop method)
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 4 Tablespoon Premium Dark Soya Sauce
- ¼ teaspoon five spices powder
- 15g rock sugar/ sugar
- 5 tablespoon ready fried shallot
- 4 Medium Size Egg at room temperature (60g each)
- 2 large scoop of braised gravy
- 4 Portions of Ready cooked Rice
- Add all the ingredients for the braised pork belly in a pot
- Bring it to boil, scoop 2 big scoops of gravy and set aside.
- Check and stir occasionally. *cover the pot with lid during simmering
- The gravy should reduced by half when the pork belly is done. Add more water if the pork belly gets too dry during simmering.
- Use a push pin or any egg pin to gently puncture a small hole on the bottom of each egg
- Fill a saucepan with water (must be enough to cover the eggs) and bring it to boil under high heat.
- Reduce to medium heat (still boiling) and gently put the eggs into the sauce pan
- Cook for 5 mins 20 sec
- Remove from the boiling water and shock the egg in cold water to prevent further cooking.
- When the eggs are cool, peel them and add into the bowl of braised gravy set aside from the pork belly.
- Marinate for a minimum of 2 hours
- Serve the braised pork belly over cooked rice.
- Cut the eggs into halves and top it over rice.
- Drizzle more braised gravy and serve hot