Braised pork rice

What it is

A small bowl of rice topped with minced or diced pork, usually belly, braised in soy sauce with shallots until glossy and dark. The sauce is the heart of the dish and also goes over noodles and vegetables. Southern versions tend to use leaner pork than northern ones.

Where it comes from

In 2011 the Taiwan edition of the Michelin Green Guide said the dish came from Shandong, reading the character 魯, an old name for Shandong, in the common spelling 魯肉飯. The Taipei City Government asked Michelin to change the entry to say the dish is Taiwanese.

How it is made

Pork belly is fried with sliced shallot, then simmered in soy sauce. Cooks may add sugar, rice wine, pepper or other spices.

How to eat it

It turns up at any meal, usually with a soup and a side dish or two. At Cianjin in Kaohsiung, regulars add an over-medium duck egg and break the yolk over the rice.

In Tainan

In the south the dish is named after the sauce, 肉燥飯 (bah-sò-pn̄g), and on southern menus 滷肉飯 can mean a slab of braised pork belly over rice instead. Fu Tai in Tainan serves it canteen-style with small plates stacked on a tray, and Cianjin, a Kaohsiung breakfast staple, adds crunchy fried milkfish floss.