Lou-rou-fan

Ingredients:

• 30g whole dried shiitake mushrooms (about 8 medium mushrooms)
• 700 g pork belly, preferably skinless
• 4 large eggs
• 2 shallots, halved, peeled and thinly sliced
• 30 g of powdered sugar (or 2 tbsp of granulated sugar)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3 tbsp. l. shaoxing wine
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2.5 cm fresh ginger root, finely chopped
• One 170g piece of pickled yellow daikon, thinly sliced
• Cooked jasmine or other long-grain white rice, for serving

Preparation:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 2 liters of water to a boil. In a medium bowl, pour about 2 cups of boiling water over the dried mushrooms and let them swell, making sure they are completely submerged, until they are moistened and the stems can be easily removed, 20–25 minutes.
2. Remove the mushrooms, reserving the liquid, squeeze them lightly and set them aside to cool slightly, then remove the stems and cut the caps into 1 cm wide strips.
3. Fill a large Dutch oven with 1 inch (2.5 cm) of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Blanch the pork belly until it turns opaque and the water is cloudy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the ice water and let cool for about 5 minutes. Drain and return the pan to the stovetop.
4. Boil the eggs in the same bowl for 7 minutes. Transfer them to the same large bowl of ice water (add more ice if needed) until cool enough to handle, 2–3 minutes. Peel the eggs and set aside.
5. Slice the pork belly into 1cm thick slices, then slice crosswise into 1cm thick pieces so that the layers of fat and meat form a single strip.
6. Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the sliced ​​pork belly, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove the belly with a slotted spoon, reserving the rendered fat in the pan. Then add the shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 7 minutes.
7. Add the pork belly, sugar, and garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the Shaoxing wine down the sides of the pan and stir until the wine has reduced by half, about 30 seconds. Add all the soy sauce to the sides of the pan and stir.
8. Add the anise, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, ginger, mushroom liquid, and enough cold water (about 2 cups) to cover the brisket. Stir, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low.
9. Add hard-boiled eggs and sliced ​​shiitake mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the brisket is tender, about 1.5 hours. After an hour, check to see if the liquid has evaporated below the brisket. If so, add another 0.5 cups of water and continue simmering.
10. Remove the hard-boiled eggs from the pan and cut them in half. Increase the heat to medium and simmer the sauce until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 15 minutes. Taste and season with salt.
11. Serve pork belly, sauce, hard-boiled eggs and pickled daikon over hot rice.