Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About
    • About Me
    • Tiny Urban Kitchen’s Favorite Equipment
    • Press
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Asian
      • Chinese
      • Taiwanese
      • Thai
      • Malaysian
      • Japanese
      • Korean
    • Appetizers
    • Soups
    • Salad
    • Pasta
    • Noodles
    • Rice
    • Vegetarian
    • Meat
    • Sweets
      • Baking
      • Ice cream
      • Cookies
    • Misc
    • Kawaii (Cute)
  • Travel / Restaurants
    • United States
      • Boston
        • Jen’s Picks
        • Boston
          • Allston
          • Back Bay
          • Brighton
          • North End
          • South End
        • Cambridge
          • Kendall Square
          • Inman Square
          • Central Square
          • Harvard Square
          • Porter Square
          • North Cambridge
        • Somerville
          • Davis Square
          • Union Square
        • Greater Boston
          • Brookline
          • Arlington
          • Belmont
          • Watertown
          • Newton
          • Lexington
          • Concord
          • Burlington
          • Natick
        • Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Berkshires
      • Vermont
      • Maine
      • New York
      • Washington DC
      • Philadelphia
      • Orlando
      • Chicago
      • Las Vegas
      • California
        • Los Angeles
        • San Francisco
        • Napa
        • Sonoma
      • Seattle
      • Hawaii
    • Canada
      • Montreal
      • Canadian Rockies
      • Toronto
    • Argentina
    • Europe
      • United Kingdom
        • London
        • Oxford
      • Italy
        • Rome
        • Piedmont
      • France
        • Paris
        • Bordeaux
      • Spain
        • Madrid
        • Barcelona
        • Catalonia / San Sebastian / Girona
      • Germany
      • Belgium
        • Brussels
      • Switzerland
      • Greece
      • Finland
      • Norway
      • Denmark
    • Japan
      • Japan Guide
      • Tokyo
      • Osaka
      • Kyoto
    • China (Mainland)
      • Beijing
      • Chengdu
      • Shanghai
      • Shaanxi
      • Shenzhen
      • Xiamen
      • Yunnan
    • Singapore
    • Hong Kong
    • Malaysia
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Australia/New Zealand
  • Michelin
    • Formerly had a star
    • Michelin Recommended
    • 1 Star
    • 2 Stars
    • 3 Stars
  • Jen’s Eating Guides!
    • Boston Restaurants
    • Boston Dishes
    • Tokyo
    • Hong Kong
    • Las Vegas
    • Napa / Sonoma
    • Taiwan (night markets)
    • Taiwanese (casual eats)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part I)
    • Street Foods of Bangkok (Part II)
    • Kitchen Equipment
  • Trip Reports
    • All trip reports
    • New England
    • New York
    • Washington DC
    • Las Vegas
    • California
    • Canada
    • Europe
    • Florida
    • Japan
    • China

Taiwanese Meat Sauce over Rice (lo bah png)

June 25, 2009 by Jennifer Che 35 Comments

_MG_1448

“Lo bah bng,” a meat sauce made of ground pork cooked in soy sauce with shallots and spices, is very classic Taiwanese home cooking. Whenever I have this, I am reminded of the food my mom used to make.

It’s surprisingly easy to make – just takes time on the stove.

This recipe is adapted from Homestyle Cooking of Taiwan by members of NATWA

Ingredients
2 dried black mushrooms
5 shallots, minced
1/2 lb ground pork
1 t rice wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups water
1 t sugar
1/2 t 5-spice powder
6 cups rice (cooked)

Soak the mushrooms in hot water until soft. Meanwhile, mince the shallots. I used a food processor, which made it a lot easier. When mushrooms are soft, slice them into thin pieces.

Add 1 T of vegetable oil to a wok and put on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add shallots and stir fry for about 1-2 minutes, until they start to brown a lot.

Add mushrooms and ground pork. Stir fry until the pork is cooked. Add rice wine, soy sauce, water, sugar, and 5-spice powder.

Let it simmer for 1 hour.

Ladle out the meat mixture and pour over rice.

There will be a lot of excess liquid. Leave that in the pot. You can optionally mix the meat sauce together with rice as well and garnish with some scallions and red pepper flakes.

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Appetizer, Asian, Chinese, Chinese Recipes, Meat, Recipe, Rice, Taiwanese

« Simple Lemon Ice Cream
Sel de La Terre – Natick Collection »

Recent Posts

  • Bozar Restaurant Brussels – 1 Michelin Star February 25, 2021
  • Fin de Siecle Brussels February 23, 2021
  • Happy Lunar New Year – a Different Celebration During an Unusual Year February 12, 2021
  • The Araki Hong Kong February 1, 2021
  • L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong January 18, 2021
  • Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong January 6, 2021
  • Elementary Hong Kong January 5, 2021
  • Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020 January 1, 2021

Latest Chinese recipes!

Comments

  1. Joy says

    June 25, 2009 at 8:08 am

    Do you think you could throw in some peeled hard boiled eggs into the braising liquid to make lu dan while you’re at it?

    Reply
  2. jglee says

    June 25, 2009 at 11:06 am

    Hmm . . that’s a great idea! I think I’ll try it next time.

    Reply
  3. Justin says

    June 26, 2009 at 3:42 pm

    this looks so good…

    Reply
  4. Karen Chang says

    September 28, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    Looks yummy! It’d be great if you made your recipes available in “printable format” too (w/o pictures). the pictures do look yummy though!!

    Reply
  5. Jen says

    September 28, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Hi Karen,
    Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll look into that as my next big project. It will probably be labor intensive, but I think well worth the effort. Thanks for the suggestion!

    Reply
  6. Jennifer says

    October 8, 2009 at 3:32 pm

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    Reply
  7. Ketchup says

    February 26, 2010 at 9:41 pm

    There used to be this joint across from campus that sold the best Taiwanese ground beef with rice and I loved it – I should try out this recipe… looking at your pictures is very nostalgic of those days.

    Reply
  8. Tofu says

    April 11, 2010 at 3:14 am

    Hi! So I know this comment is coming a bit late, considering your post is like.. a year old, but i’m going to be using this recipe tomorrow! 😀 i’m doing a test-run for a fundraising event! (: thanks so much! it looks SO good.

    Reply
  9. Monkey says

    August 11, 2010 at 1:05 am

    I sat salivating for half an hour before motivating to the grocery for shallots. I live in Fresno, CA where there is a decided dearth of real Chinese, let alone Taiwanese, food. I can’t thank you enough. Delicious.

    Reply
  10. jentinyurbankitchen says

    August 11, 2010 at 1:21 am

    You’re welcome! Enjoy . . . it really is super easy!!

    Reply
  11. deopee says

    January 14, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    Great! I’ve been looking for a recipe like this since I tasted one in Taipei years ago. As I’ve not yet gone all the way thru your blog…perhaps there’s a recipe for shredded chicken on top of rice (with some sorta of sauce)? Then the pork dish where the cooking vessel is never washed?

    Reply
  12. erectronics says

    August 21, 2012 at 7:25 pm

    just made, tastes like home :). Thanks for the easy resipe!

    Reply
  13. Jennifer Che says

    August 23, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    thrilled that you liked it! It’s such a great, easy go-to recipe. 🙂

    Reply
  14. Em says

    February 20, 2013 at 1:41 am

    Did you mean teaspoon or tablespoon?

    Reply
  15. Anonymous says

    March 1, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    Big T means tablespoon. Little t mrans teaspoon.

    Reply
  16. Jennifer Adams says

    April 15, 2013 at 8:52 pm

    Thank you for putting a recipe. I have been making this for about 8 years but when I got the recipe from my mom it was put this, this and this in and then its done. No measurements not time nothing. Hopefully this will allow me to make it so it comes out more consistently.

    Reply
  17. 小馬 says

    May 27, 2013 at 4:05 pm

    好吃!

    Reply
  18. Tammy says

    June 29, 2013 at 4:36 pm

    This is great! I LOVE your blog. Keep it up!

    Reply
  19. May says

    December 4, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    Can you substitute the shallots for onions? Would it change the flavor?

    Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      December 8, 2014 at 2:46 pm

      I bet it would still be pretty good with onions. Shallots are milder and a bit more sweet than onions, so it might change the flavor a bit. I’m guessing it would still be pretty tasty though.

      Reply
  20. Lolit Chen says

    February 12, 2015 at 7:55 am

    Thank you. The recipe was easy to follow. I made my first Taiwanese meat sauce after 25 years in Taiwan!

    Reply
  21. Stephen C says

    May 25, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    I’ve lived in Taiwan now for seven years and have eaten luroufan a lot…but always out. I think I’ll try to make this at home and see how it comes out. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

    Reply
  22. Hmucha says

    April 1, 2016 at 11:36 am

    Can we have a pressure cooker version? 🙂

    Reply
    • Yummo says

      January 30, 2018 at 3:28 am

      Yes instant pot version pls

      Reply
  23. T k t says

    March 2, 2018 at 9:25 pm

    I’ve been following your blog on and off for years and it’s my go to when I feel like making Chinese food.

    I just want to say the recipe was awesome and thank you for posting. Whenever I try a new Taiwanese restaurant I always order their lu ruo fan. I’m a mother of two young children and I liked how easy this was to make, but still very flavorful!

    Reply
  24. veronica says

    June 14, 2019 at 3:10 pm

    Hi, is it possible to not use five spice powder? Any substitute for it by any chance?

    Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      August 29, 2019 at 10:34 am

      I’ve never tried using anything else, but 5-spice typically consists of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorns, so you could try a subset of those ingredients?

      Reply
  25. Cindy says

    June 30, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    Do you have this recipe in a slow cooker version?

    Thank you,

    Cindy

    Reply
    • Jennifer Che says

      August 29, 2019 at 10:35 am

      Not yet, but I think I’ll work on one!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Erica Chu-s Her Food: Happy Chinese New Year | Penn Appétit says:
    February 24, 2015 at 8:39 pm

    […] seems like we won’t be able to buy this on Amazon (how is this possible). So, I have acquired the recipe from Jen Che’s “Tiny Urban […]

    Reply
  2. Night Market Harvard Square - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    May 27, 2015 at 11:57 pm

    […] ever had one on the streets of Taiwan). It’s definitely richer and more decadent than the version I make at home, but it’s very good. Bryan really liked the addition of the egg on top, and told me I […]

    Reply
  3. Totoro Eggs - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    October 23, 2015 at 10:13 am

    […] and we have fun together. A typical menu I make often includes a subset of the following dishes: Taiwanese Meat Sauce over rice, Beef Noodle Soup, Three Cup Chicken, Tea Eggs, Chinese Chives + 5-spice Tofu, and stir […]

    Reply
  4. Chinese Braised Peanuts - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    April 1, 2016 at 1:12 am

    […] on several dishes that are healthy, easy to make in bulk, and store well for a week, dishes like Taiwanese meat sauce over rice, tea eggs, bok choy, and Korean spinach salad.  Occasionally, I’ll throw in something fun, […]

    Reply
  5. Cheng Banzhang Taiwanese Delicacy Lai Chi Kok - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    June 27, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    […] personally like to get the lunch box with Taiwanese meat sauce (滷肉飯), mostly because it is my comfort food and reminds me of home. The oyster pancakes are authentic and pretty good, though they don’t […]

    Reply
  6. Tiny Urban Kitchen is 10 Years Old! - Tiny Urban Kitchen says:
    October 1, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    […] Taiwanese Meat Sauce […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Categories

Awards

Saveur
PFB

BostonGlobe

Most Recent Posts

Bozar Brussels

Bozar Restaurant Brussels – 1 Michelin Star

Fin de Siecle Brussels

Fin de Siecle Brussels

Happy Lunar New Year – a Different Celebration During an Unusual Year

The Araki Hong Kong

The Araki Hong Kong

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon Hong Kong

Five Guys Hong  Kong

Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong

Elementary HK

Elementary Hong Kong

Happy New Year 2021! A Look Back at 2020

Restaurant Le George Paris

Restaurant Le George Paris

Great Yakiniku and Fine Wine

Nice Yakiniku and Fine Wine Hong Kong

France!

Yam'Tcha Paris
David Toutain Paris
Divellec Paris
Breizh Cafe Paris
Clamato Paris

Kawaii! (Cute)

Norway!

Food Advertising by logo

Chinese Recipes

Okra with Chicken
Food Advertising by logo

Shop & Support us!

Spain!

Girona Spain
Amelia San Sebastian

Japan!

Bulgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Sukiyaki Imafuku Tokyo
Sushi Ishimaya Tokyo
Disney Sea Tokyo
Tempura Fukamachi Tokyo
Shinjuku Gyoen

Cambridge restaurants

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress