What can you eat with Shiitake braised minced pork? The answer is EVERYTHING. Noodles, rice, vegetables, congee, the combination is endless. It only takes about 10 minutes of active time to make a big pot that lasts all week long.
Every culture has their own meat sauce of some sorts, the Taiwanese have “肉燥” (ròuzào). RouZao is minced pork fried with shallots and braised with soy sauce and sugar. It is added to steaming rice(肉燥飯) or boiled plain noodles(肉燥麵) to serve as a main. It is also a key element to the famous DanZai Noodles(擔仔麵) in Taiwan.
Most RouZao(braised minced pork) is plain, but every once in a while you’ll find “Mushroom RouZao”(香菇肉燥 XīangGūRòuZào) at mom and pop eateries. The added depth of flavor from the dried shiitake mushroom is amazing. It’s smoky, woody and… just DELICIOUS. I love the added texture too.
Dried Shiitake Mushroom
Dried shiitake mushroom is an ingredient commonly used in Taiwanese cooking. The flavor is completely different from the fresh mushrooms because “Lenthionine” from the mushroom is released when the mushrooms are sun-dried. The best way to soak the dried mushrooms is to soak them in lukewarm water. It helps to retain the flavor of the mushroom and also softens it faster.
Fried Shallots
Another KEY flavor element to this dish. You can purchase fried shallots but it is also easy to make your own and store them. These shallots add so much flavor to the dish, if you don’t want to make shiitake mushroom minced pork, you can omit it and just add another tablespoon of fried shallot to make original RouZao.
SHIITAKE BRAISED MINCED PORK WITH…
Rice, noodles, steamed or blanched vegetables, over steamed buns, bread… EVERYTHING. Sky’s the limit. Add a few boiled eggs to the stew and make “滷蛋”(lǔdàn), braised egg! The dish is even better if you allow if to sit and soak overnight.
Ingredients
- 8 Dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 C Lukewarm Water for soaking mushroom, do not throw away after
- 1/2 lb Ground pork
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons fried shallots
- 1/4 C Soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt or to taste
- 1 TBsp sugar
- 1 tsp oyster sauce (or vegan oyster sauce) Optional
Instructions
- Soak shiitake mushroom in 2 cups of warm water until soft
- Squeeze the moisture out of shiitake mushroom and ice them into tiny little cubes
- Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a pot and Fry shiitake mushroom until fragrant about 30 seconds
- Add ground pork and Fry until most pork is cooked
- Add the minced garlic and fried shallots and Fry until it’s fragrant about 20 seconds
- Add the rest of the seasoning and mushroom water and cook for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.
Notes
- Add peeled boiled eggs and stew/ braise until the eggs are flavorful to make braised eggs!!
- Make your own Fried Shallots
- Double or triple or quadruple the recipe to make a big pot!!!
