1. Braised pork rice (滷肉飯)
A Taiwanese saying goes, "Where there is a wisp of smoke from the kitchen chimney, there will be lurou fan" (braised pork with rice). The popularity of this humble dish cannot be overstated.
"Lurou fan" is synonymous with Taiwan.
The Taipei city government launched a "braised pork rice is ours" campaign last year after Michelin’s Green Guide Taiwan claimed that the dish is from Shandong Province in mainland China.
A good bowl of lurou fan has finely chopped, not quite minced, pork belly, slow-cooked in aromatic soy sauce with five spices. There should be an ample amount of fattiness, in which lies the magic.
The meat is spooned over hot rice.
A little sweet, a little salty, the braised pork rice is comfort food perfected.