Lu Rao Fan is Taiwanese-style pork dish braised with soy sauce and spices, and served over rice with a spiced hardboiled egg and a light drizzle of sauce. It’s typically made with pork belly, which is delicious, but I decided to make it with a pork shoulder or pork butt as a variation. Excerpt from Chinese Instant Pot Cookbook by Sharon Wong, published by Rockridge Press. Copyright © 2022 by Callisto Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimer: Please check that all ingredients are suitable for your allergies and be sure to ask your medical care team regarding any allergy related questions (I do not share medical advice). As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What is Lu Rao Fan?
Lu Rao Fan is a braised pork and egg rice bowl, the meat (rao) is braised (lu) and served over a bowl of rice (fan) and is considered a comfort food type of dish. The tender braised pork is served with some green vegetables, a hard boiled egg, and sauce over a bowl of fresh, hot, steamy rice. I love pork belly but I like having the option to prepare the dish with pork shoulder. If you prefer cooking with pork belly, then follow the prep instructions, steps 1 and 2, for Hong Shao Rou on page 66 (affiliate) instead of step 6 below. You can easily make some Baby Bok Choy Instant Pot Recipe to serve with the lu rao fan.
Why make it in the Instant Pot?
Lu rao fan is usually braised in a pot on the stove top, which would require the same amount of preparation time but much longer cooking time and more hands-on time to stir and check every so often. It’s one of those dishes that I love to order when we eat out but seldom ever find enough time to make it.
“Takes too long on the stovetop” types of recipes are perfect for the Instant Pot because the cooking time is usually reduced to 1/4th or 1/3rd the usual cook times and are pretty much fool-proof without any additional stirring. I also use the Instant Pot to make the hardboiled eggs because Instant Pot cooked eggs are super easy to peel, and then I put them back into the pot at the end so they can absorb some of the flavor without becoming overcooked.
Additionally, you will need to make rice for this dish and you can cook it in a rice cooker separately. But since this recipe takes 20 minutes to cook in the Instant Pot, you can easily cook some white rice pot-in-pot style at the same time. Prep the white rice for the recipe on page 103 and place the rice and water into a pressure-safe bowl, then in between steps 8 and 9 below, add a tall trivet and place your bowl of rice on the trivet, and proceed with step 9 of your recipe. The rice will be ready at the same time.
Allergy Aware Lu Rao Fan
This recipe is free of peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, dairy, and sesame as written.
It does contain eggs, but that can be easily omitted or you can serve it with some vegan egg cooked in a separate pan (follow package instructions) and then drizzle with some sauce when serving.
People who are wheat-free, use tamari sauce instead of soy sauce.
If you are soy-free, make a batch of Soy-Free Soy Sauce Recipe or Instant Pot Beef Tongue and Soy-Free Soy Sauce 2.0 Recipe and use that in place of the soy sauce.
If you need help with finding ingredients, be sure to check What’s in Nut Free Wok’s Cupboard? Allergy Aware Ingredients.
If you like this recipe from Chinese Instant Pot Cookbook (affiliate), be sure to share this free recipe with your friends and/or give copies of the cookbook as gifts.
Lu Rao Fan, Braised Pork and Egg Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup water divided
- 6 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 shallots sliced
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 pounds pork shoulder or pork belly cut into 2-3 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons rice wine
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoons sugar or 30 grams rock sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 2 1/4 cup cooked medium- or long-grain white rice
Instructions
- Prepare an ice bath and set aside.
- Pour 1/2 cup of water into the Instant Pot, place a trivet inside, and put the eggs on it. Program to pressure cook for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- When the timer sounds, quick release the pressure and transfer the eggs to the ice bath. Empty and dry the liner before returning it to the base.
- On the Instant Pot, select Saute and adjust the heat to high to preheat the pot. Once hot, pour in the oil and add the shallots. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes until the shallots are browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shallots to a small bowl, leaving the oil in the pot.
- Add the garlic and ginger to the pot and stir-fry for about 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the pork and stir-fry for about 2 minutes until browned.
- Pour in the wine to deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom.
- Pour in the dark and light soy sauces, the remaining 1/2 cup of water, and the sugar. Add the five-spice powder and half of the shallots.
- Lock the lid. Program to pressure cook for 20 minutes on high pressure.
- While the pork cooks, peel the eggs.
- When the timer sounds, quick release the pressure, select Cancel, and then select Keep Warm.
- Carefully remove the lid, add the eggs, lock the lid again, and let the eggs soak for 10 minutes.
- Serve a scoop of braised pork over rice. Halve and egg and arrange it next to the pork, then top with a spoonful of fried shallows and a drizzle of braising sauce.
Chinese Instant Pot Cookbook Updates:
Thanks so much for supporting my cookbook by buying a copy of the Chinese Instant Pot Cookbook (affiliate link) for yourself or friends. If you have some nice things to say about the cookbook, please consider leaving an Amazon review and/or tagging me on social media.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot already, I wrote a post about my recommendations when I shared a post about New Cookbook! Chinese Instant Pot Cookbook. And some of you bought the cookbook and an Instant Pot at the same time (I love that you have faith in my recipes!) and I wanted to be sure you have some support on how to ramp up and learn how to use your new Instant Pot. If your Instant Pot is still in a box, then you must read the section on Easy Beginner Instant Pot recipes in the post for the Soy-Braised Duck Legs with Ginger and Scallion Instant Pot Recipe.
Another easy recipe is Baby Bok Choy Instant Pot Recipe that you can serve as a vegetable side dish for any meal. My friend Rochie shared a recipe from the cookbook, Bok Choy Pork Vermicelli Soup.
If you want to purchase additional copies and want to support small independent bookstores, Omnivore Books and Reach and Teach have copies, including signed copies if you would like that.
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I may mention the names of stores and/or brand names of products that I use because readers ask and I share products and sources which I use and think may be helpful to readers, all opinions are my own. Please note that manufacturing practices and ingredients can change at anytime without notice and readers are always responsible for assuring allergen safety before buying or consuming foods. NutFreeWok.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Thank you for reading!
Cooking this dish in your IP will save you time!