taiwanese stewed pork with star anise, topped with green onions and a fried egg

this is fatty, but very tasty--and homey. pork stews in sugary soy sauce, star anise, and rice wine, softening into rich, chewy bits. very little active stove time. i made this when it was cold and rainy, and it was very satisfying.

ingredients
1 lb fatty ground pork
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large shallots, minced
1/2 cup rice wine
2 cups soy sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 star anise
3 cups chicken broth
1 bunch green onions, minced
a dash each of:
soy sauce
white pepper
oyster sauce
sesame oil
rice wine
cornstarch
sugar

steps
1. marinate ground pork with soy sauce, white pepper, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, cornstarch, and sugar.
2. saute garlic and shallots in cooking oil over high heat. then fry pork, and add broth, rice wine, star anise, sugar, and soy sauce.
3. cook over low heat for 2-3 hours until most of the liquid evaporates into a thick stew. scoop out layer of shimmering oil from stew, and serve with fresh green onions over rice. add an egg, if you like, as i did.

cost calculation
1 lb fatty ground pork, $1.99
3-4 cloves garlic, $0.10
2 large shallots, $0.20
1/2 cup rice wine, $0.10
2 cups soy sauce, $0.15
3 tbsp brown sugar, $0.10
3 star anise, $0.1o
3 cups chicken broth, $1.00
1 bunch green onions, $0.20
total: $394 divided by 4 = $0.99