我家 Jack 主廚的台灣滷肉飯｜My Husband’s Ló-bah-pn̄g: Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice

若你問我我是怎麼愛上我先生的。

剛開始約會時，在家用現有食材做出的那一手義大利麵，絕對是讓我對 Jack 好感爆棚的關鍵。

不得不說，由於英國外食比起自煮貴上太多，且受家庭觀念和長輩廚藝耳濡目染，我個人認為「英國男生會下廚做菜」這件事算是普遍的。

可即便如此，若要我平心靜氣、公公正正地評論，我還是認為 Jack 的廚藝非常不容小覷——他是真的覺得做菜很療癒，也能按照食譜和自己的直覺調整，一步步變出各式菜餚，而且多數都很好吃！

自 2023 年和我一起回台灣，跟著我吃遍各種小吃和在地美食後，我家這位非常享受料理和烹調，總是什麼都想自己做做看的先生，於是也決定在家重現他喜歡的滷肉飯。

我已經忘記 Jack 第一次做滷肉飯是什麼時候了，只記得第一次做的時候，八角 (star anise) 放得有點太多，剛好不是我喜歡的味道，而且吃的時候還咬到好幾次八角塊！（笑）

但是，第一次在英國家裡看到他煮的滷肉飯上桌的時候，我還是感動得哇哇亂叫。

一次兩次、三次四次，從八角的份量、肉塊適口的大小、黑糖與醬油的甘味拿捏，搭配我從亞超網站訂回家的池上米煮出來的白飯，再滷進我們固定從牛津的農場訂閱的新鮮雞蛋⋯⋯

能夠吃到這個「在遇到我之前和台灣小吃八竿子打不著邊的英國人做出來的家鄉味」，我覺得非常幸福。

也能很驕傲地和我媽，還有我家煮滷肉最厲害的阿嬤說：我在英國也能吃到好吃的滷肉飯囉！

My Husband’s Ló-bah-pn̄g: Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice

If you asked me how I fell in love with my husband, I’d probably tell you – his cooking definitely played a big part.

Back when we first started dating, Jack somehow managed to make a lovely pasta dish using nothing more than whatever ingredients he had at home. That meal definitely earned him a huge number of brownie points 😆

After living in the UK for some time, I think it’s quite common for British men to know how to cook. Eating out in the UK is much more expensive than cooking at home, and many people grow up learning from parents or grandparents who enjoy cooking.

Even so, if I’m being completely fair, Jack’s cooking really is something special. He genuinely finds cooking relaxing, and he has a natural instinct for following recipes while making little adjustments of his own along the way. 9 times out of 10, he turns simple ingredients into delicious meals.

After travelling to Taiwan with me in 2023 and trying as many local dishes as we could, my husband, who loves cooking and is always eager to recreate the food he enjoys, decided to make one of his favourites at home: Ló-bah-pn̄g, a.k.a Taiwanese braised pork rice.

I can’t remember the first time he made it. What I do remember is that he used a little too much star anise. It wasn’t quite to my taste, and I kept biting into pieces of it while I was eating! 😂

However, the first time I saw a bowl of homemade braised pork rice served on our dining table, I was genuinely over the moon.

Batch after batch, he kept refining the recipe. A little less star anise. Pork cut into just the right size. The balance of soy sauce and dark brown sugar becoming richer and smoother each time. We serve it over Chishang rice from Taiwan that I order from an Asian online supermarket, with eggs we braise using fresh ones from the local farm in Oxfordshire we subscribe to.

Being able to enjoy this taste of home, cooked by a British man who had absolutely no connection to Taiwanese cuisine before he met me, makes me incredibly happy and grateful.

And it means I can proudly tell my mum, and my grandma, who makes the best braised pork in the world:

“Don’t worry. I can still enjoy a proper bowl of Taiwanese braised pork rice here in the UK!”