Make Rice Cooker Lu Rou Fan with ease! This Taiwanese braised pork rice features tender pork belly slow-cooked in a rich, savory sauce with aromatic spices. Served over fluffy rice with soft-boiled eggs and greens, it’s a comforting one-pot meal perfect for busy days.
Table of Contents
What is Lu Rou Fan?
Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯) is a classic Taiwanese dish featuring braised pork belly in a rich, soy-based sauce. The slow-cooked pork becomes tender and flavorful, traditionally served over steamed rice with a marinated egg and blanched greens. This rice cooker version simplifies the process, making it an easy and convenient meal for home cooks without sacrificing depth of flavor.
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make this dish, you will need a few staple ingredients. If needed, here are some simple substitutions:
- Pork Belly – Use skin-on pork belly for the best texture, but pork shoulder can work as a leaner option.
- Shaoxing wine – Can be replaced with sake or dry sherry.
- Soy Sauce & Dark Soy Sauce – Dark soy sauce adds color and depth; if unavailable, use extra regular soy sauce with a pinch of sugar.
- Oyster Sauce (Optional) – Adds umami richness; omit if needed.
- Garlic & Ginger – Essential aromatics for flavor.
- Rock Sugar or Brown Sugar – Helps caramelize the pork for a glossy finish.
- Five Spice Powder – A key ingredient for authentic flavor. If you want a very slight kick, add a bit of white pepper.
- Eggs & Greens (Optional) – Soft-boiled eggs and blanched bok choy or yu choy complete the dish.
- Rice – Short-grain or medium-grain white rice is best.
How to Make Taiwanese Pork in a Rice Cooker
This dish comes together effortlessly with just a few steps!
- Prepare the Pork: Cut pork belly into bite-sized pieces.
- Cook in the Rice Cooker: Add all ingredients (except eggs and greens) into the rice cooker and mix well. Set to “white rice” mode.
- Prepare Soft or Hard-Boiled Eggs (Optional): Cook eggs separately if using and set aside.
- Blanch the Bok Choy (Optional): Quickly blanch greens in boiling water, then shock in cold water.
- Add Eggs to the Braise: Once the rice cooker cycle ends, add the boiled eggs and let them absorb the sauce.
- Remove Excess Oil (Optional): Skim off excess fat if desired.
- Reduce the sauce (Optional): Transfer the pork and sauce into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the sauce to desired consistency, mixing occasionally to prevent burning.
- Serve: Spoon the braised pork over rice, slice the eggs, and serve with greens.
How to Make it in an Instant Pot
If you have an instant pot, it can be made even quicker. To make instant pot Lu Rou Fan:
- Add Ingredients: Place the sliced pork, sake, soy sauces, oyster sauce (if using), water, garlic, ginger, rock sugar, and five spice powder into the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.
- Pressure Cook: Close the lid, set the Instant Pot to “Meat/Stew” mode, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Let it natural release.
- Prepare Eggs & Greens: While the pork is cooking, boil the eggs and blanch the greens.
- Thicken the Sauce: Use the “Sauté” function and simmer for 5-10 minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce.
- Finish & Serve: Add eggs to the pot after cooking and let them soak in the sauce for extra flavor. Serve over rice with greens.
VIDEO: Watch How to Make It
Lisa’s Recipe Tips
- To make it truly 1 pot: Wrap rinsed eggs in foil and place into the rice cooker at the beginning to make hard boiled eggs. Add the veggies in the rice cooker at the end and set to “keep warm” mode for 10-15 minutes to let it steam.
- Make extra: The braised pork tastes even better the next day as the flavors continue to develop.
How to Store Leftovers
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Braised pork can be frozen for up to a month.
- Reheating: Warm on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of water if needed.
Recipe FAQ
Yes, you can also use pork shoulder for a leaner alternative.
Yes. Cook the pork belly until browned, then sauté with garlic and sugar until the sugar melts. Add the rest of the seasoning ingredients and water. You may need an extra 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered on low for 1 hour until the pork is tender. Add the boiled eggs to marinate and reduce the sauce if to thicken.
Look for pork belly with even marbling—too much lean meat can result in a drier dish, while excessive fat may make it greasy. If using pork belly with high fat, you can skim some of it out.
More Meal Rice Cooker Recipes
- Rice Cooker Bibimbap
- Rice Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Rice Cooker Japanese Curry
- Rice Cooker Hainanese Chicken Rice
- Rice Cooker Beef Pepper Rice
Enjoy! If you make this Rice Cooker Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese Pork) recipe, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and rating below, and if you share it on social media, tag me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen. I can’t wait to see your creations!
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Rice Cooker Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese Pork Rice Bowl)
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
Make Rice Cooker Lu Rou Fan with ease! This Taiwanese braised pork rice features tender pork belly slow-cooked in a rich, savory sauce with aromatic spices. Served over fluffy rice with soft-boiled eggs and greens, it’s a comforting one-pot meal perfect for busy days.
Ingredients
- 1 lbs (450-500 g) skin on pork belly, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) Shaoxing wine
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) soy sauce
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp (20 ml) dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp (10 g) oyster sayce, optional
- 1/2 cup 120 ml water
- 2 cloves (8 g) garlic, minced
- 2 inches or 1 1/2 tbsp ginger, whole or minced
- 20 g rock sugar or 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp five spice powder
- 4 soft or hard boiled eggs, optional
- 1 lbs (450 g) green Chinese vegetables such as bok choy or yu choy, optional
- 4 servings of rice, about 200–250 grams each
Instructions
- Prepare the Pork: Slice the pork belly into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Cook in the Rice Cooker: Add sake, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce (if using), water, garlic, ginger, rock sugar, and five spice powder to the rice cooker pot. Stir to combine, then add the pork belly and mix well. Close the lid and set the rice cooker to white rice mode.
- Prepare the Soft or Hard Boiled Eggs*: Check out my Easy Boiled Eggs Recipe.
- Blanch the Bok Choy*: Bring a pot of water to a boil with a pinch of water. Add the greens and cook for 30-45 seconds until bright green. Drain, shock in cold water and set aside.
- Add Eggs to the Braise: Once the rice cooker timer is up, open the lid and add the boiled eggs. Close the lid and let them sit for 5 minutes. Turn the eggs and let them sit for another 5 minutes.
- Remove Excess Oil: Skim off any excess oil from the surface if desired.
- Reduce the Sauce (Optional): Transfer the sauce and pork into a pot over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent burning until sauce is reduced to your liking.
- Finish and Serve: Slice the eggs in half. Spoon the braised pork over rice and top with eggs and blanched greens. Enjoy!
Notes
- *To make the eggs and bok choy one pot too, rinse the eggs and wrap in foil. Add it the to the rice cooker at the beginning and cook with the pork. Add the rinsed green vegetables after the cycle is done and set to “keep warm” mode for 10-15 minutes to steam the vegetables.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Rice Cooker
- Cuisine: Taiwanese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 695
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 205 mg
- Fat: 62 g
- Saturated Fat: 22.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 40 g
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 12.5 g
- Fiber: 0.35 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 83 mg
I doubled the recipe and used pork butt. It was DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe. 🙂
I love lu Rou fan and this was so easy to make I also used pork shoulder it was great!
I made this vegetarian using extra firm tofu and some eggplant instead of pork belly, and it worked out so well! Incredibly easy to put together and the gravy was crazy good. I’ll definitely be adding this to the weekly rotation.
Hot tip: I had leftovers and added it to a pot with more water + noodles. Super quick and delicious noods