Braised pork rice

Braised pork rice (Chinese: 炕肉飯; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khòng-bah-pn̄g, alternatively 焢肉飯, 爌肉飯, 滷肉飯) is a gaifan dish found in Fujianese cuisine and Taiwanese cuisine. Although subject to regional variations, dishes are typically made of pork belly cooked in a process known as lu (boiled and marinated in soy sauce and sugar) and served on top of rice. Chinese pickles are often eaten with the dish.

Braised pork rice
Pork belly rice served with fermented bamboo shoots
Traditional Chinese炕肉飯
Southern Taiwan
Traditional Chinese滷肉飯

Braised pork belly likely originated from Quanzhou, China, and was brought to Taiwan by immigrants during the Qing Dynasty. Along with the similar minced pork rice, braised pork rice gradually became an integral part of Taiwanese xiaochi culture, commonly found at food stalls or bento stores. Similar dishes can be found within Hakka cuisine, Singaporean, and Malaysian cuisine.[1] Braised pork rice is one of the most notable Taiwanese foods.[2]

Etymology

Although "焢" and "爌" are both variant characters, the two are more commonly used in the name of the dish than "炕". Additionally, even though all three characters each have different pronunciations in Mandarin Chinese, the Taiwanese Hokkien pronunciation khòng is colloquially used in place. Therefore, the dish is commonly referred to as kòngròufàn in Mandarin.[3][4][5]

In southern Taiwan, braised pork rice is referred to as 滷肉飯 (pinyin: lǔròufàn), which in northern and central Taiwan refers to minced pork rice. Minced pork rice is instead named "肉燥飯" in the south.[6]

Braised pork rice in Changhua
A bowl of braised pork rice from Changhua. Note the toothpick connecting the lean meat and fat.

Braised pork rice is one of the three essential dishes in Changhua cuisine, along with ba-wan and cat-mouse noodles (similar to ta-a noodles). The main difference is that rear leg pork is chosen instead of pork belly. Since the fat and lean meat from this cut often separates during preparation, vendors usually connect the two with a toothpick. The dish is eaten throughout the day, even including breakfast and siu yeh.[7]

In 2011, Changhua hosted a festival for braised pork rice. Eighteen local vendors were invited to serve the dish, and the event was visited by President Ma Ying-jeou.[8][9] In 2012, Changhua set the Guinness World Record for the largest braised pork rice at 647 kilograms (1,426 lb).[10][11][12]

See also

References
  1. 尹全海，崔振儉，固始移民與閩臺文化研究:唐人故里閩臺祖地九州社 崧博出版社 金石堂, 2010
  2. Hiufu Wong, Maggie. "40 of the best Taiwanese foods and drinks". edition.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. "【知識】焢肉飯還是爌肉飯？淺談這碗彰化特色美食". SUNMAI.Life 餐酒生活誌 (in Chinese). 11 February 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  4. "【焢】火-08-12". 教育部異體字字典 (in Chinese). Ministry of Education. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  5. "【爌】火-15-19". 教育部異體字字典 (in Chinese). Ministry of Education. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  6. 黃琮淵 (27 August 2013). "滷肉飯郵票掀波 南部郵迷：沒三層肉 是肉燥飯". China Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  7. Kiwi (17 September 2018). "彰化爌肉飯特搜／一味百吃的家常菜 超彈牙肉質 讓你停不下嘴" (in Chinese). United Daily News. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  8. 楊久瑩 (16 December 2011). "焢肉飯耶誕樹點燈 彰化焢肉飯節啟動" (in Chinese). Liberty Times. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  9. 楊珊雯 (22 December 2011). "2011彰化焢肉飯節 「焢肉飯不夜城」好呷經典美味！盼推廣米食創造商機！" (in Chinese). Taiwan National Net. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  10. "Largest braised pork rice". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. 吳為恭 (17 December 2012). "647公斤焢肉飯 彰化破金氏紀錄" (in Chinese). Liberty Times. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  12. 吳哲豪 (16 December 2012). "647公斤焢肉飯 創金氏紀錄" (in Chinese). Central News Agency. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
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