"Where there's a wisp of smoke from the kitchen chimney, there will be lurou fan [braised pork with rice]," goes the Taiwanese saying. The popularity of this humble dish cannot be overstated.
"Lurou fan" is almost synonymous with Taiwanese food.
"Lurou fan is the more ordinary and down-to-earth dish for any Taiwanese," says Rae Lin, founder of dearbnb, a Taiwanese travel website. "From your mother's version of lurou fan to the one served in a restaurant, it's the one dish we truly can't live without."
A good bowl of lurou fan features finely chopped, not quite minced, pork belly, slow-cooked in aromatic soy sauce with five spices. There should be an ample amount of fattiness, in which lies the magic. The meat is spooned over hot rice. A little sweet, a little salty, braised pork rice is comfort food perfected.
Jin Feng Minced Pork Rice, No. 10-1, Sec. 1, Roosevelt Rd., Zhongzheng Dist, Taipei Taiwan;