taiwanese meat sauce (tainan version)

I usually make the Taiwanese meat sauce with regular ground pork, but this time I decided to take some friends' suggestions and try to make it with hand-cut fatty pork. "What's fatty pork?" you say. OK I don't know its real name, but it's almost like big chunk of bacon... with more meat.

This recipe of meat sauce is for the Tainan sticky rice. Tainan is a city in southern Taiwan, where many of the best Taiwanese dishes originated. The meat sauce is not only yummy on sticky rice, it's also great on regular rice or noodles.


I threw in a few boiled eggs and they came out very delicious, too!

Taiwanese Meat Sauce (Tainan Version)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Fatty pork (available at Asian markets) or regular pork shoulder cuts.
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup fried shallots (available at Asian markets)
2 Tablespoons "rock sugar" (sugar crystals) or regular sugar
1 quart water

Cut the pork into small cubes or pieces. Stir-fry in a pan until slightly brown. Place the pork in a slow cooker (crock-pot), add the soy sauce, fried shallots, sugar, and water. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Add boiled eggs or tofu along with the pork if desired.


It looks pretty much like this when it's done.

Traditionally this meat sauce is prepared in clay pots over a gas range for a few hours. I'm lazy and I don't want to keep watching it for hours, so I make it in the slow cooker. Turns out pretty good! :)