Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (Lu Rou Fan)

Every night market in Taiwan has a stall with a giant pot of lu rou bubbling away. The dish is simple, but two details matter. First, hand-dice the pork belly instead of using ground pork, so every bite has both soft fat and chewy lean. Second, use plenty of fried shallots, which melt into the sauce and give it its savory sweetness. Store-bought fried shallots are perfectly fine. Add a few peeled hard-boiled eggs to the braise if you like; they come out stained and delicious.