When I went to Formosa Chang in Taipei late last year, I bought one each of their pre-packed braised pork sauce and chicken sauce. As much as I wanted to try them once I got home from the trip, I told myself to be patient. So I chuck ’em at a corner in the fridge until the right time comes (=early this month).
According to the preparation method, you can heat the sauce in two ways:
1. In a rice cooker, add half cup of water. Add the unopened packet in the rice cooker and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Open the packet and serve warm.
2. Immerse the whole packet in a pot of boiling water and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Open the packet and serve warm.
I did not follow either methods because I don’t think it’s wise to heat the packet. What I did was I opened it and pour the sauce into a bowl and then steam it in a steamer for about 15 minutes.
Let’s check out Formosa Chang’s pre-packed chicken sauce first.
Chicken sauce straight out from packet. There were generous amount of chicken meat (yeah!) and aromatic sauce. Some solidified fats can be seen as well.
My jiroufan (雞肉飯) accompanied with vegetable and egg.
What can I say? It is delicious. The sauce is amazing too.
Now let’s move on to this braised pork sauce.
Braised pork sauce straight out from the package. Shockingly unappetizing.
What it looks like after steaming. Now this is more inviting. Compared to chicken rice sauce, this braised pork sauce looks more oily and liquidy.
Getting my Formosa Chang’s lu rou fan fix with simple stir-fried spinach on the side.
The braised pork sauce is full of yumminess. The pork itself though was a let down. It smells porky but doesn’t have that meat-y texture. When I touch the striped pork with my fingers, they feel like jelly and would disintegrate easily. Super weird.
As a result, I prefer the chicken rice more. My mom and sis agreed with me. According to the printing at the back, one packet is good for 6-7 portions. Nah, it’s impossible. For us, one packet is good enough for 3 people. 🙂 At NT$165 (~RM20) a packet, I think it’s a pretty good deal.
So are these pre-packed sauce a good substitute when you’re having those ‘missing lu rou fan/ji rou fan’ days?
It’s useful to have a packet or two of these on hand but in my opinion nothing beats the real deal! In fact, I don’t mind flying to Taiwan just for them.
Have you tried these pre-packed sauce from Formosa Chang? What do you think?
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