Taiwanese Lu Rou Fan Rice Bowl

1. Soak the dried shrimp in hot water for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the skin-on pork belly into 1/2-inch thick slabs, then dice into 1/2-inch pieces. Chef's Secret: pork skin is essential as it contains lots of gelatin, which makes the sauce thick, shiny, and flavorful.
3. Preheat a heavy-duty vessel (clay pot, Dutch oven, or cast-iron pot) over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the pork without oil and stir over medium-high heat. It will release juice that evaporates; once the fat starts rendering, keep stirring until you get about 1/3 cup of pork fat (10-15 minutes).
4. Tilt the pot, take the fat out into a saucepan, and reserve for later.
5. Add garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and rock sugar to the pork. Stir until the aromatics are fragrant.
6. Add the rest of the seasonings: light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, ground white pepper, and five-spice powder. Stir well, deglazing all the brown bits at the bottom.
7. Pour in 3 cups hot water and simmer on low for 1.5 hours. Keep an eye on the level; if you need more, add hot water, not cold.
8. While the pork simmers, slice the shallot thinly and mince the soaked dried shrimp.
9. Add the shallot slices to the reserved pork fat and stir over medium-low heat until lightly golden, about 10-12 minutes (it is normal for the oil to foam).
10. Add the minced dried shrimp and fry 2 more minutes until the shallots are golden brown.
11. Drain the oil with a sieve, reserving it for other uses if you wish.
12. By now the pork has simmered about 30 minutes with 1 hour to go. Add the fried shallots and shrimp to the pot and cook with the pork for the rest of the time.
13. Once done, remove and discard the spices (ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, bay leaves).
14. Check the pork belly: it should be thick, sticky, and saucy. If thin, reduce over high heat; if too thick, add a bit of hot water.
15. Scoop the meat over white rice. Serve with soft-boiled eggs and blanched baby bok choy. Taiwanese people often serve it with Ludan (braised hard-boiled eggs), but soft tender eggs pair especially well.

Ingredient Tips: Rock sugar is refined and re-crystallized granulated sugar and can be replaced 1:1 with granulated sugar. Dried shrimp is optional but adds complexity; if unavailable, add a few anchovy fillets while simmering. Any soy/dark soy sauce works, but as this is Taiwanese, the Taiwanese Kim Lam brand is recommended.