Taiwanese Five-Spice Pork and Rice Stuffed Peppers

About This Recipe

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.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4bell peppers(tops cut off and seeded)
• 400 gground pork
• 1 cupcooked rice
• 1carrot(finely grated)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2scallions(finely sliced)
• 0.5 tspfive-spice powder
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbsprice wine
• 1 tspsesame oil
• 0.5 cupchicken stock
• 0.25 cupThai basil(chopped, for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the filling

   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.

2. 2

   Season and combine

   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.

3. 3

   Stuff the peppers

   Pack the filling into the hollowed peppers, mounding slightly at the top, and stand them upright in a baking dish.

4. 4

   Bake covered

   Pour chicken stock into the bottom of the dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.

5. 5

   Finish uncovered

   Remove the foil and bake 10 to 15 minutes more until the peppers are tender and the tops are lightly browned.

6. 6

   Serve

   Spoon any pan juices over the peppers and scatter with fresh Thai basil before serving.

Variations

• •

  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.

Storage

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.

Frequently Asked Questions