Taiwanese-Style Braised Tempeh “Pork” (Lu Rou Fan)
[Vegan]

To Prepare the Tempeh:

1. First, pull apart the tempeh with your hands into large chunks (if your tempeh is frozen, let it thaw completely first). Boil a pot of water and blanch the tempeh for 10 minutes to rid its bitter aftertaste. When 10 minutes is up, remove the tempeh from the water and let cool. Once the tempeh is cooled enough, use your hands to crumble up the tempeh, achieving a “minced pork” texture. Set aside.

To Prepare the King Oyster Mushrooms:

1. First, slice each mushroom length-wise into around 1 cm thick pieces. Then, using a sharp knife, score the flatter side of each mushroom slice.
2. Now, cook the King Oyster mushrooms. From here, we’re using the same pot to cook the mushrooms and braise the tempeh. In the pot, heat up a little bit of vegetable oil on high heat. Sear each slice of mushroom scored side down. Press each mushroom down with a flat spatula to ensure an even sear (otherwise they will curl up). Once the scored side is deeply brown and golden, flip and lightly cook the other side as well. Remove from the heat and set aside. Don’t wash out the pot as we want to retain that caramelized mushroom flavor at the bottom of the pot (what the French call suc).

To Braise the Tempeh:

1. In the same pot, heat up brown sugar on medium heat until melted and caramelized (it should achieve a darker shade). Then, add the garlic, black bean garlic sauce, spicy broad bean paste, ginger, shallots, ground Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilis, five-spice, and bay leaf. Cook while stirring for 2-3 minutes, then add back the minced tempeh and cook to lightly caramelize the tempeh, around 4 minutes.
2. Deglaze the pot with soy sauce, water, and Shaoxing wine. Cover and braise for at least 20 minutes. Near the end of the braising, remove the lid and reduce the braising liquid by at least half. Adjust seasoning at the end of the reduction.

Prepare Other Toppings:

1. While the tempeh is braising, prepare any toppings you would like. Feel free to prepare some crispy tofu cubes and Bok choy (simply blanching them in salted boiling water for around 1-2 minutes.) Pickled vegetables are great as toppings as well.