Lightened-Up Pai Gu Fan

By gnikylime

排骨飯 (pai gu fan) is a Taiwanese dish consisting of fried pork schnitzel, white rice, pickled vegetables and a tea egg. It is one of my favorites, so I decided to lighten it up in a serious way.

The secret to getting a hearty fried taste is using dry roux (toasted flour) on the meat.

Source of tea egg recipe: http://globalgourmet.com/food/special/2000/good_egg/asian.html#axzz2v835TZd4

Source of đồ chua recipe: http://www.hungryhuy.com/vietnamese-pickled-daikon-carrot-recipe-do-chua/

Ingredients

• Tea eggs:
• 8 eggs, preferably medium
• 1/2 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 4 star anise
• 1 strip (1/2 x 2 inches) orange zest
• 3 cups water
• 3 Lapsang Souchong tea bags or other black tea, strings removed
• "Fried" chicken:
• 1.8 lb [0.8 kg] chicken cutlets
• 1/2 c. [118 mL] skim milk
• 1 T. [1 Esslöffel] soy sauce
• 1/4 c. [32 g.] dry roux (http://catholicfoodie.com/how-to-make-a-dry-roux-in-the-oven)
• 1 t. [1 Teelöffel] five spice
• Rice:
• 1-1/2 c. [265 g.] wild & brown rice mix, uncooked
• Pickled vegetables:
• đồ chua or other pickled vegetable (1/2 recipe http://www.hungryhuy.com/vietnamese-pickled-daikon-carrot-recipe-do-chua/)

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as the water boils, remove the pan from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain off the water, cover the eggs with cold water and let stand until cool enough to handle.
2. Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, sherry, star anise, orange zest and water in the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the tea bags.
3. When the eggs are cool, gently tap them with the back of a tablespoon so the shells are evenly cracked. (Note: crack them more than you think they should be cracked.) Do not peel. Using the spoon, carefully lower the eggs one at a time into the simmering liquid. If it does not cover the eggs entirely, add more water. Cover the pan and simmer for 1 hour.
4. Transfer the eggs to a bowl or small casserole with a lid. Cover with the hot liquid and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate, preferably overnight.
5. Drain, peel and pat each egg dry. Rub with sesame oil, if desired. Serve halved or quartered.
6. Preheat the oven to 400 F / 200 C.
7. Prepare the rice.
8. Mix together the skim milk and soy sauce in one container. Mix together the dry roux and five spice in another container. Coat each piece of chicken in the milk mixture then dredge in the flour mixture.
9. Bake in a baking dish 20 minutes or until done.
10. Slice the chicken into strips.
11. Serve chicken over the rice with a side of an egg and pickled vegetables.