Make Taiwanese Spaghetti with the Amazing Taiwanese Braised Meat Sauce!

Howdy ya’ll!

As you know, I’m currently in Taiwan and man oh man are the street food amazing! I had to constantly stop myself from buying everything that I come across and only go for those that I know are the must-eats; if only I do not have to watch my weight coz someone’s getting tubby:( else I’ll be stuffing my face with all the delicious goodies! For the first-timers though, I encourage you to just let loose and try as many as you possibly can!

So today, I’ll be sharing this recipe with you: Taiwanese Noodles with Meat Sauce OR let’s call it Taiwanese Spaghetti in short.

The heart of this dish is its hearty meat sauce. This ‘meat sauce’ is something nearly all Taiwanese mothers cook on a weekly rotation basis (I kid you not!) and it can be served over rice (also know as “Lu Rou Fan”) or noodles (Taiwanese Spaghetti in short).

“Lu Rou Fan” – In Taiwan, the meat sauce is simply served over hot steamed rice with just a tiny piece of pickle. Some restaurants include a stewed egg, preserved vegetables and a bowl of eggwash soup to make it more of a complete meal. A DEFINITE MUST-EAT IN TAIWAN!

This particularly sinful meat sauce is traditionally made with ground pork, Chinese black mushrooms and lots of shallots. The seasonings include warm Chinese five-spice powder, both dark and light soy sauce, black vinegar and a touch of brown sugar.

Myself, I eat this EVERYDAY when I’m here in Taiwan. I’m currently having it at one of my meals daily COZ ITS SO GOOD!

So without further ado, allow me to share with you the recipe for this dish so you can replicate it wherever you are!

Taiwanese Braised Meat Sauce

Servings: 4 Prep Time:10 minutes Cook Time:10 minutes

Taiwanese Spaghetti! Image courtesy of @SteamyKitchen

Ingredients:

1 pound noodles (or rice!), your choice;)
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (or oyster sauce)
2 teaspoon light (regular) soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese black vinegar (or young balsamic vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons cooking oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 pound ground pork (traditionally, pork is used, however you may also use ground beef/chicken/turkey)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
One 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, drained and diced
4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, diced
1 stalk green onion, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles or rice according to package instructions. Drain.

2. In a small bowl, combine the chicken broth, dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, vinegar, five spice powder and brown sugar. Set aside.

3. Heat a wok over medium-high heat. When hot, swirl in the cooking oil. Add in the onion and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the ground pork and cook for 2 minutes. Push aside the onion and ground pork to one side of the wok to create a small spot to fry the garlic. Add in the garlic and stir fry for a few seconds or until you begin smelling the garlic. Add in the bamboo shoots and mushrooms. Toss everything in the wok together.

4. Pour in the broth/soy sauce mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the green onions. Serve the ground pork mixture over the noodles or rice.

TIP:

• Used 1/2 parts ground pork and 1/2 parts thinly cubed pork belly strips (1cm by 1cm) to give it that bit of fat – trust me, you need some fat in order for the dish to taste really good!

DO DO DO Please DO try this out and I guarantee a mouthgasm! Of course, please eat in moderation too;)

Cheers,

Glen