My Taiwanese braised pork sauce is an extension of my love for Taiwanese minced pork rice. Throughout college, my close friend, Xin, and I went to Momo Tea on South University at least once a week for minced pork rice. After a long week of classes, late nights studying at the libraries throughout central campus, and endless homework and papers, it is always a welcome change to bond over a bowl of warm, familiar, and comforting minced pork rice. The rice bowl at Momo Tea always came with jasmine rice, a heaping scoop of minced pork, and half of a soy sauce braised egg. We would always order some bubble tea to sip on while eating our rice bowl. When I graduated from college and moved away from Ann Arbor, I started recreating the flavors of my favorite Taiwanese minced pork rice bowl. My homemade Taiwanese braised pork sauce definitely hit the spot, but it also reminded me of how much I missed Ann Arbor. In the fall of 2017, Kevin and I traveled back to Ann Arbor to take engagement photos in preparation for our July wedding in 2018. As we were strolling through Ann Arbor, I walked down South University to see if Momo Tea was still there. Unfortunately, the shop has since closed down. I was so sad to not be able to have another bowl of minced pork rice at Momo Tea. Fortunately, my version of minced pork rice comes very close in flavors and aromas to the rice bowl I remember eating on campus. Today, I put a spin on my usual minced pork rice dish. My Taiwanese braised pork sauce combines the familiar flavors in my favorite bowl of minced pork rice and includes additional aromatics to further enhance the flavors within the dish. My rice bowl isn’t complete unless there is a perfectly boiled egg braised in the same pork sauce. I like to soft boil my eggs first, carefully remove the shells, and then finish braising the eggs in the pork sauce. While somewhat unconventional, I also love adding green peas to my Taiwanese braised pork sauce. Green peas add a sweet snap and works perfectly in braised sauces. To serve my dish, I like to scoop a large serving of Taiwanese pork sauce over one side of the jasmine rice and top the rice bowl with some fresh cilantro. Whenever I eat this dish, I am reminded of all of the good memories I had when I was a student in Ann Arbor.
Taiwanese Braised Pork Sauce:
· 1 teaspoon sesame oil
· 1 pound freshly ground pork
· 3 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 onion, thinly sliced into half moon shapes
· 3-4 large dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water for at least an hour, diced
· ½ tablespoon five-spice powder
· 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
· 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
· ½ tablespoon Shaoxing wine
· ½ tablespoon fine sugar
· ¼ teaspoon white pepper powder
· 1 cup water
· 4 soft-boiled eggs, shells peeled
· ¼ cup of frozen green peas (optional)
Directions:
1) Heat a large pot on medium heat. Add a teaspoon of sesame oil. Cook the pork in the pot for about 3 minutes. Drain some of the excess fat rendered from the pork. Remove the pork using a slotted spoon onto a plate.
2) Add the garlic, and onion into the pot and let it cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Toss in the mushrooms and let cook for another 1-2 minutes. Return the pork back into the pot. Stir in the five-spice powder, soy sauces, wine, sugar, and white pepper powder. Let cook for about 3 minutes. Add the cup of water and the soft-boiled eggs. Let all of the ingredients cook in the pot for another 15-20 minutes. Add in the green peas during the last two minutes of cook time.
Takeaways: The sauce for this dish also works well with ground chicken or ground beef. Feel free to swap in ground chicken or ground beef if you prefer either protein over ground pork. You can add more water if you prefer a milder sauce. If you prefer a spicy sauce, you can also add in ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.