Bell peppers stuffed with a Taiwanese-seasoned pork and rice filling flavored with five-spice, soy sauce and rice wine, baked until tender.
This stuffed pepper draws on the same five-spice, soy and rice wine seasoning found in Taiwanese braised dishes like lu rou fan, packed into a quick-baking format built around ground pork and rice. Carrots are grated fine and folded into the filling both for natural sweetness and to help keep the mixture moist as it bakes, since ground pork alone can dry out in the oven. The technique that matters most is partially cooking the pork and rice filling on the stovetop before stuffing the peppers, browning the meat properly so the filling has real savoriness rather than tasting steamed. The peppers then finish in the oven, covered at first so they soften through, then uncovered briefly so the tops color and the filling sets. This isn't a traditional Taiwanese dish on its own — stuffed peppers aren't part of the island's culinary canon — but the flavor base of five-spice, soy sauce and rice wine is entirely authentic, giving a familiar Western format a genuinely Taiwanese seasoning profile.
Serves 4
Heat a splash of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the pork for 5 minutes, breaking it up, then add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Stir in five-spice, soy sauce and rice wine, cooking 1 minute. Remove from heat and mix in cooked rice, grated carrot, scallions and sesame oil.
Browning the pork before stuffing is what gives the filling real savory depth — skipping this step leaves it tasting flat.
Pack the filling into the hollowed peppers, mounding slightly at the top, and stand them upright in a baking dish.
Pour chicken stock into the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes more until the peppers are tender and the tops are lightly browned.
Spoon any pan juices over the peppers and scatter with fresh Thai basil before serving.
Grate the carrot rather than dicing it — it disappears into the filling and adds moisture without changing the texture much.
Choose peppers with flat bottoms so they stand upright on their own in the baking dish.
Add the Thai basil only at the very end; baking it with the filling would turn it dark and bitter.
Ground chicken version: swap in ground chicken for a leaner filling, adding an extra teaspoon of sesame oil to keep it moist.
Extra vegetables: fold in finely diced shiitake mushrooms for more umami depth.
Spicy version: add a spoonful of chili bean paste to the filling for heat.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat covered in a 160°C (325°F) oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes.
While stuffed peppers themselves aren't part of traditional Taiwanese cuisine, the five-spice, soy sauce and rice wine seasoning base used here is drawn directly from everyday Taiwanese braising and stir-fry traditions.
No, use fully cooked rice — raw rice won't have enough time or liquid inside the pepper to cook through properly during baking.
This usually means the pork was too lean or the peppers baked too long uncovered. Use pork with a bit of fat and keep the dish covered for most of the baking time.
A small pinch each of ground star anise, cinnamon and clove approximates the flavor, though it's worth keeping a jar of five-spice on hand since it's used across many Taiwanese and Chinese dishes.
Per serving (340g / 12.0 oz) · 4 servings total
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