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Honoring a milestone in the restaurant world, these pair of signature dishes represent a wonderful balance of roots and creativity. As cooler seasons sets in, rich tastes like those in Taiwanese stew become especially appealing. On the other hand, fried daikon cubes offer a crunchy and pleasantly addictive snack that was born from a fortunate kitchen accident.

Lu Rou Fan (Serves 4)

This traditional preparation uses a two-stage technique to achieve soft meat that soaks up deep flavors.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cooling Time: 4+ hours
Cook Time: 3 hrs

Poaching Ingredients

• 500g streaky pork
• 2 teaspoons rice wine
• 2cm peeled ginger, bashed
• half a garlic clove, crushed

Braising Ingredients

• ¾ tsp neutral oil
• diced shallot
• 15ml soy sauce
• red pepper
• 1 star anise
• ½ tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
• ¼ tbsp sweet rice wine
• garlic, minced
• diced apple, prepared
• ½ inch ginger, bashed
• ¼ spring onion, split
• 3.75ml rice vinegar
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1.25ml soy glaze
• Cooked rice, for serving

To begin poaching the pork. Add the pork in a large pot filled with cold water, heat until boiling, and cook for a short time. Take out the pork and discard the water.

Return the pork skin downward in a clean pan, add enough water to submerge, then add the cooking wine, ginger, and crushed garlic. Heat until boiling, then turn down the heat and cook gently for about 20 minutes, until the pork is cooked through and the skin looks clear. Remove the heat and let the pork rest in its poaching liquid for at least four hours, optionally for 8–12 hours, covered and chilled.

Once cooled, take out the pork from the broth and slice it into cubes, including the skin. Filter the poaching liquor and reserve it.

Now, add the oil in a pot with a lid over moderate heat. Add the diced shallot and meat cubes and fry carefully, stirring regularly, for 10 min, until the shallot softens. Add 125ml of the saved liquid and all the remaining braise ingredients except the dark soy sauce. Heat until boiling, then reduce the heat to a gentle boil, put the lid on, and stew for 120 minutes, topping up with broth if needed.

Remove the lid, mix in the soy glaze, raise the heat to medium-high, and cook for 20 more minutes, until the sauce concentrates and turns shiny.

Plate over cooked rice – the savory sauce coats the rice ideally. The trick is to prevent melting the fat overly, so the pork melts in the mouth while holding its texture.

Fried Radish Cubes

You will need start these in advance.

Prep Time: 5 min
Freezing Time: 8–12 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Makes: 10 to 12 pieces

• large Asian radish, peeled and grated
• 3.2 oz flour, plus 3.5 oz extra for coating
• 1⅓ tsp salt
• large eggs, whisked
• 200g Japanese breadcrumbs
• About 500ml neutral oil, for deep-frying

In advance, add the grated daikon in a big pan over moderate heat and cook for 15 min, until much of the moisture is gone. Include up to 100ml cold water to achieve a 1:3 ratio, turn down the heat to gentle, then stir in the 90g flour and the salt until well combined.

Line a loaf pan with parchment, then pack in the daikon mixture so it's an uniform 2½cm deep. Put the tin in a steamer, and steam over medium flame for 30 min (check the water level to prevent boil dry). Remove the tin, let cool completely, then wrap tightly and freeze for 8–12 hours.

When ready to cook, remove the daikon tin from the freezer and let it thaw at room temperature for a short time, just until easy to cut. Open, take out the block of daikon and cut it into 1 inch cubes – these are your cubes.

Set up a breading station with the additional 3.5 oz flour, egg mixture, and Japanese crumbs in different plates. Coat each tot first in flour, submerge it in the egg (switching one hand), then into the panko (using the other hand; this prevents the crumbs from sticking).

Heat the oil – enough to cover the tots – in a large pan to moderate heat (or until a ginger piece fries and darkens in 20 seconds). Deep-fry the tots in small groups for 2 min each, rotating them gently for uniform browning, then lift out and place on kitchen tissue to cool completely.

Turn up the heat a little and bring the oil to 190C (or until a cube of ginger fries and browns in 10 sec). Cook the tots a once more, in rounds, this time for about a minute in total, until golden and crunchy – the second frying ensures a light coating and a tender inside. Shake off completely and serve hot with your chosen dipping sauce; tasty options include spicy sauce or spicy oil.