Vietnamese Caramel Pork
Local Link | Content link | Reddit Link
r/GifRecipesu/speedylee (19389)

Comments (512)

+2 Fancy for calling them Eschallots.

There wasn’t that much of them tho. Seems more like eschallittles.

why don't you eschadontit?

You think they gon eschaldontit, but they eschaldo.

Bad Bot

Are you sure about that? Because I am 99.9813% sure that Trapunzel is not a bot.

^(I am a Neural Network being trained to detect spammers | Summon me with !isbot <username> |) ^Optout ^| ^Feedback: ^/r/SpamBotDetection ^| ^GitHub

What's the .1297% doubt for?

!isbot perrycohen

I am 101% sure that perrycohen is a bot.

^(I am a Neural Network being trained to detect spammers | Summon me with !isbot <username> |) ^Optout ^| ^Feedback: ^/r/SpamBotDetection ^| ^GitHub

Well,that escalated quickly

I don’t get it.

It reminded my of the Reno 911 episode when the guy on the roller skates tells officer dangle " why don't you Xanadontit?". I'm sorry. I need a nap.

Oh ok I gotchu.

Chip Chipperson

It's so fancy I don't even know how to pronounce it: Eh-sca-lot? Ee-sca-lot? Eh-sha-lot? Ee-sha-lot? And now I don't even know what the regular word is...

E- shallot. Short for electric shallot

[deleted]

Got a good chuckle out in the middle of the gym bathroom. Thanks!

Played by Richard Gere in a 90s Arthurian movie, where King Arthur was played by Sean Connery.

The regular word is shallots. I would guess it's pronounced eh-shallots.

Its french so Esk- (like saying Elk but with an S) -a-lo (not low, but lot with a silent t)

I thought it was the plural of Echelon

I googled and it's not even the correct French spelling. Also, it's not native to France or anything, so using the French name in an otherwise English gif is just pretentious.

The term eschalot, derived from the French word échalote, can also be used to refer to the shallot

So you can either call it shallot or eschalot. Both are acceptable in English.

Also mate, you might want to find which words used in culinary English are French words.

Hint, it's a fucking lot. But I guess if you don't like your cuisine or omelette sauteed with eschalots in the vinaigrette that's on you.

It's not pretension. It's colonialism.

-1 for having zero knife skills apparently.

It's because the recipe is on the internet. I have a text cookbook, and it calls them shallots instead of E-shallots. I'll take a pic for proof later

you mean pretentious

Colonialism FTW. they were a French colony, and that is the French spelling.

Vietnamese Caramel Pork by RecipeTin Eats

Prep Time: 10 mins, Cook Time: 1 hrs 30 mins, Total Time: 1 hrs 40 mins, Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup / 100g brown sugar, tightly packed
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 kg / 2 lb pork shoulder (butt) or boneless skinless pork belly, cut into 3 cm / 1.2" pieces (Note 1)
  • 1 1/4 cups / 375 ml coconut water (Note 1)
  • 1 eschallot / shallot , very finely sliced (Note 2)
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/4 tsp white pepper

Garnishes:

  • Red chilli and finely sliced shallots/green onions

Instructions

  1. Place sugar and water in a large pot over medium heat. Stir, then when it bubbles and the sugar is melted (it looks like caramel), add the rest of the ingredients.

  2. Stir, then adjust the heat so it is simmering fairly energetically. Not rapidly, not a slow simmer (I use medium heat on a weak stove, between medium and low on a strong stove).

  3. Simmer for 1.5 hours, uncovered. Stir once or twice while cooking.

  4. At around 1.5 hours, when the liquid has reduced down and the pork is tender, (see Note 3 if pork is not yet tender), the fat will separate (see video).

  5. Stir and the pork will brown and caramelise in the fat.

  6. Once the liquid is all gone and it's now stuck on the pork pieces, it's ready.

  7. Serve over rice, garnished with fresh chilli and shallots. Simple pickled vegetables are ideal for a side because the fresh acidity pairs well with the rich pork.

Recipe Notes

  1. Other proteins/cuts: This recipe is suitable for slow cooking cuts of pork like shoulder/butt and belly. Please don't try this with tenderloin or loin - it will be too dry, there is not enough fat in those cuts. This recipe will also work great with beef - use slow cooking cuts like chuck, gravy beef and brisket. I don't think the flavours will work with lamb. I tried this recipe with chicken and found it doesn't work quite as well, it works better with coconut milk (see note 1b) but the recipe required other adjustments too so given the popularity of this recipe, I will share the chicken version soon! Coconut water is different from coconut milk. It's more like a whitish water, and it tastes salty / sweet, and not really of coconut at all. It's sold at supermarkets here in Australia in the drinks aisle - it's popular for "healthy" smoothies and the like, and costs $2 - $3 (Asian stores are cheaper). This recipe does actually work great with coconut milk as well, but I'd urge you to use low fat / light coconut milk and the end result is slightly sweeter with a coconut fragrance that you don't get in the traditional version. Also add 2 tbsp rice vinegar or cider vinegar. Also slightly more sticky sauce coats the pork. Both are delish, I chose to share the traditional version using coconut water.

  2. Eschallots are also known as French shallots / French onions and look like small onions. Don't get too hung up on this - you can even use normal onions. Just finely chop 1/4 cup. Eschallots are good because they are more delicate than normal onions so they add the flavour but dissolve into the sauce.

  3. PORK TENDERNESS: The variable in this recipe is the time it takes for the liquid to reduce down vs pork being tender. If your pork is not quite tender enough by the time the braising liquid is almost evaporated, just add 1/2 cup water and keep cooking.

  4. Simple Pickled Vegetables: Use a carrot peeler to peel ribbons from 1 carrot. Slice 2 cucumbers. Place 1/2 cup rice vinegar (or cider vinegar), 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tbsp white sugar in a bowl, stir. Add carrot and cucumber, stir. Set aside for 20 minutes until the vegetables soften then drain. Coriander/cilantro and mint are great additions to a simple pickled veg like this. Serve with pork.

  5. Adapted from various recipes from Vietnamese cookbooks.

I don't know if this makes it more authentic, but use coconut soda, specifically coco rico, instead of coconut water. Also, hard boiled eggs.

Yes and yes. I've never seen my parents cook with coconut water, but I've seen them cook with coco Rico a bunch. And a thousand times yes with eggs. I don't know why Vietnamese people are infatuated with putting eggs in everything, but I don't complain. I just eat.

I don't complain. I just eat.

I feel a special connection with you right now

Can I join the glutton party?

It's not gluttony if you appreciate it 😉

Now I feel better about myself!

Do you cut the hard boiled eggs in slices or chunks or just throws some in whole? Asking because I want to ensure I do this correctly.

I'd slice it in half and not keep it in the pot for too long. Just at then end to coat the egg with the sauce. Keep the yolk facing up.

By the way, for a dish that is salty and perhaps sweet, it'll taste terrific with sliced cucumbers and/or lettuce. It works as a great counterbalance in texture, flavor, and temperature.

My wife puts them in whole, and also uses the Coco Rico. I think she also uses Hoisin sauce as well.

The version with eggs needs a lot more liquid but the sauce is excellent over rice. Here’s a good recipe to trycaramalized pork w/ egg

Eggs are cheaper than meat and Vietnam had lots of poor people and it affected their cuisine.

I'm Filipino and we eat eggs like a mofo. I think it's because SE Asia is generally very poor and eggs are cheap af, generally.

Any good substitute for coconut? I’m allergic, but this looks ridiculously good.

My parents cooked this a lot for me growing up and I don't think they ever used coconut water or coco rico in it. I've made it for myself a few times and I think the New York Times recipe version is a pretty good recipe and doesn't use coconut.

Link (it's behind a paywall, but I'll include the version I saved on a google doc below) https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11326-vietnamese-caramelized-pork-thit-kho-to

I do reduce the sugar down to 33-50% of the original, as I find it too sweet with the original amount. I tend to do more black pepper than it says, and add some sliced thai bird's eyes chilies as well since I like it a little bit spicy. Add a little water if it's too strong in flavor, but go slowly cause you don't want to dilute it too much. Anddd I also add medium-boiled eggs to this like the other posters have said.

Comparing this recipe and the one OP posted, I think the OP recipe might be more approachable for somebody who isn't used to fish sauce, but once you get used to it and enjoy it, try this version, as it's less sweet and more forward with the fish sauce!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EvFImYIRIXV2Tqh8Ie5lQlajUZbhAVEOZPrv5ywRAtY/edit

[deleted]

Orgeat syrup

Orgeat syrup is a sweet syrup made from almonds, sugar, and rose water or orange flower water. It was, however, originally made with a barley-almond blend. It has a pronounced almond taste and is used to flavor many cocktails, perhaps the most famous of which is the Mai Tai.

The word "orgeat" ( or ) is derived from the Latin hordeaceus "made with barley" through the French, where barley is called orge.

^[ ^PM ^| ^Exclude ^me ^| ^Exclude ^from ^subreddit ^| ^FAQ ^/ ^Information ^| ^Source ^| ^Donate ^] ^Downvote ^to ^remove ^| ^v0.28

Cool! I’ll give that a try!

I’m not sure if it’s connected but just so you’re aware orgeat has almonds in it! I’m allergic to both coconuts and tree nuts so it wouldn’t work for me :)

Came here to ask the same thing, also allergic. Have an updoot.

Taiwanese have a similar item that doesn't use coconut or fish sauce. Taste will be just as good as the Vietnamese version.

The Taiwanese version has a different flavor profile due to the addition of 5 spice powder. You're right, they're both good.

You can buy a seasoning packet at the Asian market called "thit & can kho to". It calls for everything this has except the coconut, which I prefer the less creamy taste and more of a salty savory taste. Make sure you use green onion at the end!

I'm a little late but my mother normally uses Coco Rico but in times we don't have it she has used Sprite to a similar effect.

You can sub plain water for coconut, I do it all the time and it turns out great. You may have to add a bit more sugar to account for the difference but the level of sweetness is a personal preference. Sometimes I add a bit of a thick, sweetened soy sauce called Kecap Manis for extra flavor. I bet molasses would work too.

Use sprite

Edit: sorry I'm Vietnamese and my mom and grandma put sprite in as well as coco Rico, I doubt you will taste the coconut honestly

That's a different type of braise (kho) dish. The one with hard boiled egg is not caramelized; has a little broth or enough to cover the meats and eggs. Also, typically the caramelized dish is usually saltier.

Caramelized pork & egg dish probably doesn't seem like it'd taste good.

I wonder if that's a regional difference. All of the thit kho trung I've ever had is made with caramelized sugar.

I started looking more into it, and it seems like there is.

Interesting, can you tldr it? I recently found out that Northern Pho is completely different from the Southern style, and now I want to try it.

[deleted]

Yeah, this is one of my favorite dishes. Ate it all last week actually and now I'm craving more.

God. I love Coco Rico so much.

Coconut soda? What part of Vietnam is the dish from? My GF is from rakgia (sp), a few hours outside of ho chi min. I'm pretty sure anything that requires coconut anything, coconut milk is used.

Also, I'm pretty sure her and her mom have never used brown sugar, but they caramelize regular granulated sugar.

Thit kho is the dish, I believe.

How/when do you add the eggs?

Boil them separately, peel, then add at the very end. Traditionally, they're hard boiled but I like mine soft-boiled so you can pop the creamy yolk, mix it with the braising liquid, and eat it over rice. And...now I'm hungry again.

We usually make ours soupy too to add more liquid over our rice! But the eggs are the best part!

My mom also puts sprite in as well as the coco rico, don't ask me why lol

[deleted]

Did adding more water and letting it simmer for longer make it more tender?

[deleted]

The collagen (tough connective tissue) converts to gelatin and water (over time) with heat. That's why these tough cuts of meat (pork shoulder, beef brisket) need a long, slow cook.

Looks dang good.

Thanks for doing that!

Looks really tasty!

[deleted]

Unless you're actually allergic I'd just go with the fish sauce. It won't taste the least bit fishy.

Otherwise you could try one of: miso paste, marmite, soy sauce, oyster sauce.

What does fish sauce taste of if not fishy?

Umami and salt.

Smells fishy, but doesn't really impart a fishy flavor in my experience. Kinda like how anchovies are used in Worcestershire sauce to add umami - other than the savoriness you don't get a fish/anchovy flavor.

Worcestershire sauce is made of anchovies?

It’s definitely an ingredient

Caesar dressing too

Oh, my poor soul.

https://youtu.be/TZznz1vs2sk

Thanks. Is the sauce usually used as a condiment, or finishing sauce, or while cooking, or marinading?

put it on grilled cheese to ascend to a higher level of existence

Hmmm i will try that

and pizza! my friends make fun of me because anytime we go get pizza i have to buy or bring with me a bottle of worcesthershire.

put fish sauce on my grilled cheese... 3/10

I usually use Worcestershire sauce as an ingredient or a marinade, although I like the taste so sometimes I put it on rice or with cooked steak.

So you would put it at the end on cooked steak, not marinade the steak in worcestershire sauce before cooking

That depends...

I use it all the time as a marinade, especially for beef. However, I personally like the flavor, so sometimes I put it on the cooked steak as well.

However, most of the things I use it for are as an ingredient in a sauce or marinade. Its rare that I put it directly on food because it has a very intense flavor.

Yes, good for all, adds depth and umami.

All of these above.

I use it in almost every dish.

Am very Viet and fish sauce is the best thing g in the world to me. I can add to it anything

Are you talking about fish sauce? Because i was talking about worcestershire sauce

That was more interesting than I thought it would be. Thanks for the link.

It is one of the ingredients, yes.

Yep. This is why you see people use fish sauce or anchovies in beef stew, bolognese, even burgers. I even added it to a slow cooked chicken and brown gravy meal tonight.

It's called an umami bomb it adds a flavor that is super savory and yummy. Think of it as Asian Worcestershire sauce.

Duck sauce doesn't taste like duck

But duck sauce tastes amazing on duck.

Except fish sauce is made entirely of dried fish and salt whereas duck sauce is a jelly that has nothing to do with ducks.

The code of sauces state that a sauce is either eaten with the thing its named after, or made from the thing its named after.

And then there's Worcestershire sauce.

I see! So Hollandaise sauce is actually... Oh no.

Apocryphally, Dutch butter after the French ran out in WW1. In actuality, no one really knows but it probably came from exiled French Huguenots returing to France after being forced out in the religious wars of the 17th century.

unless you pour a whole bottle in there its just kind of like adding salt.

It just adds a more savory, meaty flavor (Umami, as it's often called)

It has the same effect as adding anchovies to sauces or Caesar salad dressing. When you eat Caesar dressing you don't really taste fishiness, you just get a salty, umami element.

It's super savory. Basically there's two chemical groups that taste savory, and tasting them both together is a double whammy. Fish has savory #2, while most things have savory #1, so you get super rich food using only a little, so it doens't taste fishy. That being said, soy sauce or worchestershire sauce also give a bunch of savory flavors, so they'll probably work just fine.

And the smell... oh the smell!

I moved to San Diego in late August one year. Rented one of those big moving trucks. Well unpacking it in 100 degree heat, I managed to drop a bottle of fish sauce, which exploded. I then got to smell that fish sauce every time I went in to grab another load of boxes. It was not awesome.

I may be laughing behind the screen but I assure you, I completely empathize with that struggle.

I don't blame ya lol. :)

My mom spilled it once. She has since always double bagged it when moving it at all, so worth it.

I'm never moving with that stuff again! I'll just buy it once I get there.

Oh man that smell. After 7 years of my husband's (delicious) cooking I am finally getting used to it

It tastes so good too! I use some every time I make fried rice and ALWAYS turn on the stove fan.

His version of this dish is hands-down my favorite of everything he makes (with the hard-boiled eggs!) I call it "stinky feet and farts"

Fish sauce is definitely fishy for those that don't like fishy.

What's the point of things like fish sauce in a recipe like this if you don't taste the fishiness of the sauce? Like what does it do for this recipe?

Soy sauce, worcestershire sauce

Worchestershire sauce has anchovies in it.

That’s true, but it’s not super seafoody in taste/smell

Neither is fish sauce when used in a recipe like this though, it just adds to the sweet/savory flavor.

Nearly all pad thai has fish sauce, yet I've never had any that tasted fishy.

pad thai isn't pad thai without fish sauce

maybe im just not a picky eater but theres something so childish to me about not liking foods

"I don't like fish so I won't like fish sauce, even though I don't know anything about fish sauce" sounds like the reasoning of my 3 year old niece

[deleted]

You might want to try different brands of fish sauce to find one that you like. There is a world of difference between the 1.99$ big bottle of Squid brand sauce to the 2.99$ small bottle of Polar Brand sauce to the 8.99$ bottle of Red Boat sauce.

My local Asian market sells Red Boat for $2.99. I didn't believe it until I bought 5 bottles and hoarded them in my fridge.

I probably would have bought a case at that price. I can only find Red Boat at Wegmans and it is 9$ a bottle. I have seen it at H Mart, but the closest one is an hour away from me.

[deleted]

Haven't had that one, but give Red Boat a chance if you can find it.

As for dishes, I put a little into just about any Asian sort of dish in lieu of soy sauce.

ETA: Just a thought, just like with wine you follow the rule of "If I wouldn't drink it, I shouldn't cook with it" you might just not like the taste of Fish Sauce, and that is okay too. You can add umami with other stuff like tomato paste, mushroom broth or straight up MSG.

A little fish sauce goes a very long way. The smell is off putting too, but I think it adds a nice touch to many dishes.

[deleted]

Msg and salt in place of fish sauce. Another thing about fish sauce is when it simmer, the steam will stink up your kitchen without proper ventilation.

not just MSG, fish sauce is also rich in disodium inosinate. Unfortunately that's way more expensive than MSG and the next best natural source is bonito fish flakes.

Ever had thai food? Most thai dishes that you've had probably have fish sauce in it. Pad thai, soups, drunken noodles, stir fries, etc.

[deleted]

I wish I could find it in Australia :(

Subs would be worcestershire sauce (still has fish), or Soy Sauce.

Using fish sauce in cooking is like using wine, you can only smell it while you're cooking, and only if you use a whole lot of it.

do yourself a favor and give fish sauce a try. it has a great flavor don't get hung up on the name.

Taiwanese have a similar item that doesn't use coconut or fish sauce. Taste will be just as good as the Vietnamese version.

I just made this for dinner tonight and I want to say that you should definitely make the pickles to go along with it. They provide so much contrast to the dish, transforming it from something really heavy and fatty to something that's rich and flavorful.

Can I use almond milk as a replacement for coconut water instead? My brother is allergic to coconut but this does look really tasty.

Pretty sure you can just use regular water instead of coconut water. Almond milk and coconut water are nothing alike.

Chicken stock or veggie stock would be good options too

That sounds like a good idea, thank you.

Pretty much always better to avoid straight water when you're cooking; it's just diluting flavour

Fair enough, the guy under me suggested chicken stock which sounds pretty good to me.

My mom normally uses coconut soda but has done dr pepper a few times

Yep, coconut soda is what my mom uses, or a can of brown soda if she's in a pinch

So I really want to make this but I'm allergic to coconut. Is there anything you recommend as a substitute? It really sucks because I love coconut too.

Is it possible to do this with shrimp or fish?

heh, I happened to have all the ingredients except... fish sauce. Might try substituting Worcestershire or soy sauce, or I might have some other asian sauces in the cupboard.

Anyway, looks totally delish, will be making this soon. Thanks for the recipe!

Hey, I'm allergic to pork. What other meat would this work with?

Thank you so much for this comment! When I saw the gif, I wondered whether I can use coconut milk at all instead of coco water because that's what's in our cabinet lol. Is the cider/rice vinegar compulsory with the coconut milk?

I accidentally brought loin. I guess it's too late to turn back so let's see if it turns into anything

What’s the Fish Sauce used for? I’m new to cooking and she hates, and I mean absolutely hates fish.

Any substitute for the 100 grams of sugar?! Or does it at least cook off during the long simmering time?

You want caramel? You need sugar.

No, for two reasons.

One, this is caramel pork. The sugar is what makes the caramelization occur, it becomes the caramel.

Two, you can't cook off sugar. If you put it in the pot it will be there until you empty the pot.

Not if you want caramel pork. My advice would be to find a completely different dish to make. Sugar is essential to this dish. Perhaps you could prepare the pork a different way--lots of ways use less or no sugar.

Try Adobo. Instead of sugar and fish sauce you add soy sauce, vinegar, and a bay leaf.

http://panlasangpinoy.com/2009/08/01/filipino-food-pork-adobo-recipe/

This won't taste anything like the caramel pork. You need a sweetener

I've replaced sugar with maple syrup in all my recipes. Give it a try.

Lol, that's still sugar.

It's a healthier substitute.

https://draxe.com/maple-syrup-nutrition

But then your food all tastes like maple--there's nothing maple syrup has that molasses doesn't in terms of minerals, and there's no other reason to use it--it's all sugar. Stop spreading bullshit information.

Maple syrup is ~60% sugar. Brown sugar is 97% sugar.

It's not "all sugar". The information on that website is factual.

But use it in a recipe and that 33% water disappears and you wind up with either the same amount of sugar, or a dish that’s lacking in sweetness. Though the amount it’s lacking would depend on the specific sugar breakdown of brown (which I believe is mostly Just sucrose) and maple (which I’m not sure of).

Is this similar to com tam with pork?

This was pretty much a childhood favorite of mine. My mom made it all the time.

Protip: Soft boil a few eggs then throw them in with the pork. Eat with some rice.

[deleted]

It’s definitely a kind of thit kho but usually the sauce isn’t reduced so you can caramelize it. Drizzle the sauce on the rice or something.

I was wondering if they were trying to make thit kho or something else. I agree with /u/Higgenbottoms that it might be loosely based on that, but it's a different dish all together. At best, I'd call it an "Americanized Thit Kho". I don't think I've ever seen brown sugar in Vietnam.

Do you guys use white sugar for thit kho? I'm trying to find a traditional recipe

My mom uses white sugar if she doesn’t have palm sugar.

Bull shit, there is brown sugar in Vietnam.

Duong mo ga, i believe. We don't call them brown sugar tho. Easier to be caramelized.

Well I mean it's also 2017 so I'm not saying it's traditional but... I can walk into any super market and ask for Duong nau.... If I go to the shops on Ham Nghi I can even buy Western imported.

I'm not sure what Duong Mo Ga is though, I will ask for it next time I'm at the market.

Caramelized meat is really common in Vietnamese cooking. It's generally called nuoc mau, you use it to flavor your meat and is normally cooked in some type of stew or simmer method. Thit soung noung uses a similar method by adding a lot of sugar in the marinade and using the grilling process to create the caramel.

A lot of vietnamese cooks will stress "the right color" which in general refers to the caramel process.

This dish is similar to thit kho tieu a sauce that is reduced down to really concentrate the flavor. "Thit" just refers to pork, and "kho" is a stew/simmer method.

It's a different kind of thit kho, not sure what it's called. My mom makes this but the meat used is a bit different, cut smaller and with more fat, and I don't think she uses brown sugar, but it essentially comes out like this with a really thick caramelization and it's really salty.

Sugar is a dead give away that this is Americanized. Molasses would be a closer substitute, but raw sugarcane would be best (called jaggary in India)

Definitely thit kho, I never use soy sauce or rice wine. A lot of recipes don't have them. The soy sauce will help with the color depending on how dark your nuoc mau ends up being. But I've never seen it caramelized like that.

Edit: Actually it sort of reminds me of thit kho tieu without the tieu (black pepper).

Yea that's what I was thinking, I also had bamboo shoots sometimes as well.

The owner of a Vietnamese place I used to work at made it, or something similar; with pork belly, boiled eggs, king trumpets, and firm tofu all about the size of the eggs. Damn that was good.

It looks more like sườn xào chua ngọt minus the ribs

Is that added near the end or when you're cooking the pork?

Do you know if this turns out witha beef shoulder instead of pork? or if the recipe needs to be changed at all for it?

I don’t know the exact recipe but this kind of cooking can be applied to shrimp and fish as well, so beef should turn out well. Good luck :)

[deleted]

Usually we serve it with raw cucumbers or steamed broccoli. Any greens work but make sure to drizzle the sauce over it :)

[deleted]

Oooh that’s a good idea. Try some pickled chinese cabbage if you like sour vegetables.

Also just remembered: Sautee some water spinach with garlic. It’s perfect.

Funny, this is on my weekly menu! My family will be eating my lovingly prepared "Fish Sauce Caramel Pork" on Wednesday.

  1. We use palm sugar, but the difference in taste is minimal enough.

  2. CARMELIZE THE SUGAR IN A TABLESPOON OF OIL. Seriously. Do this, then brown your pork in the caramel. Dont be afraid to let it get dark.

  3. I use whole green onions, not shallots. I often have a bundle of the bottoms, so it is a good way to use it up.

  4. Red Boat fish sauce. Yes, it is worth the cost.

  5. I use these frozen pouches of coconut water that have chunks of coconut meat in them. They stack so nicely in the freezer!

  6. I don't cook it down to a sticky state... the broth is like HEAVEN. It makes the rice the best part of the dish.

  7. I serve it with steamed broccoli or some other green, tastes good with all the brothy juicy goodness.

  8. Peeled hard-boiled eggs are a VERY good addition. Sounds strange, but you're already cooking with fish sauce... so is it really?

EDIT: Oh, yeah! I usually add in some fresh ginger. A small finger, sliced into thick coins. Peel ot with the edge of a cheap spoon. We don't want none of those fancy SMOOTH spoons. 😂 (Pro-tip, you can also peel a kiwi with a spoon. Slice each end off, insert the spoon between the fruit and the skin, the rotate. It will looks so purdy and fancy when you make nice slices!)

Taking these tips into account

This is much closer to how I ate it growing up!

Tell me more about these frozen coconut things.

I find them at any decently stocked Asian market, especially SE- centric - Thai, Vietnamese, etc...

I see them more often in little plastic tubs with a fork and straw, sold as a beverage. I use these if no pouches are available. My local grocer sells the pouches for .99, cheaper than those little tubs. (But those tubs are the most amazing thing to drink on a hot day...)

Excellent! I've never seen such a thing, next time I go into Chinatown I'll have to take a look.

Those coconut things in a cup with the built in spoon are an amazing snack too! Have you tried those aluminum cans of coconut milk? They don’t need to be refrigerated they’re really convenient to have around.

Are you talking about coconut milk or water? I get the water sometimes - that's what I used tonight. 😂

I prefer the frozen ones. I like the flavor better, the coconut is more tender, and it is the perfect portion for the batch size I make.

What on earth is palm sugar?

It's made from the flower buds from a coconut palm tree. It comes in little dried bricks/shapes. Hard stuff, but you dribble. little water on it, then microwave it for just a moment, and it softens right up.

It has a caramel, toasty flavor. Not quite brown sugar, but similarish.

Keep a bit of the thickened sauce rather than simming it to dry. Use it as dipping for veggies.

Do you add salt and pepper to the meat first? I think it is weird to cook meat without those.

I hear you - I am normally a "season as you go" person. In this dish, the slow braise will take care of it. The fish sauce provides ample saltiness to the dish. I just toss my pork i the caramel, let it brown, then add everything else and let it braise until the meat is just about to fall apart.

I don't add pepper to this one, but that's just me!

Sounds good! I've never made it but it looks delicious.

Make it!!! You won't regret it! We generally make it once a month or so.

We also make a sort of similar dish from Phaedon's "Creole" cook book. Same concept with the caramel - brown the chicken in it (marinated with onion, garlic, and vinegar), then add chicken stock, green onion, parsley, red onion, ginger, garlic, habanero, thyme, and a few teensy dashes of clove and cinnamon. We throw on some chinks of carrot or sweet potato as well.

Can I sub coconut milk for the coconut water or would that be a disaster?

If you did, it would be a very different dish. Let me put it this way - you could maybe convince your steak and potatoes- eatin' uncle that this is teriyaki. It is a little sweet, salty, and an umami-bomb. Now imagine a creamy teriyaki sauce... Yeah, maybe not! But who knows, it is certainly worth experimenting with.

Most supermarkets have regular coconut water - check the beverage aisle. It won't be quite as tasty as the stuff from the Asian market, but it is certainly better than none at all!

How do you "caramelize"? It's a step in the recipe I'm unfamiliar with. Is it just to turn up the heat?

Pretty easy - basically you just cook the sugar until it turns a dark shade of brown! Stir the sugar and oil, and it's pretty neat to watch. It will turn a light color at first, the a nice amber. I put the pork in when it gets just a little darker than that.

When you brown the natural sugars in something, you call it "caramelization". Like a nice sear on a steak, the yummy brown bits on roasted carrots or potatoes...

I was skeptical when they dumped the meat in, thinking "there's no way that's going to turn out good", but after 1.5-2 hours of cooking it down it suddenly makes sense. That looks really tasty.

How high would you put your stove on to keep this tendering for 1.5 hours. My oven had 1 to 5 and I feel like it'd burn these to a crisp. Also would you have to keep rotating the pork so one side doesn't burn?

The recipe OP posted says medium-low to medium, depending on your stove. I know one of my burners tends to run hot, so if I used that burner I'd probably put it on low. Mine goes from 1 to 9 on the stove top, so I'd probably put it on 2.5-3/9 ish, but I'd have to try it out to see. On another burner that tends to run a little cooler I would probably put it on 4/9. The recipe says to gently simmer for 1.5 hours, so whatever that translates to on your stove.

However, I bet you could cook this in the oven if you had an oven safe pot, like a dutch oven. 1.5-2 hours on 375F would likely do it. I'm just guessing at numbers here though.

and induction?

the recipe has you add coconut water. that's going to have a max heat of 212F. for this kind of long cook, you get the stuff hot enough for it to boil, then you turn down the heat as low as possible to keep it simmering. my stove top has a dial that goes from 1-10. i know at about 1.5, with a lid on, any of my pots will keep simmering. just enough heat to keep it at boiling temp, but not so much heat that it boils off the water fast.

if your "1" setting is still too hot, just add some more water. you'll just need to cook off the excess water at the end, after the meat is tender.

Thanks dude

no problem, i like cooking. the key here, the stuff that makes tough meat tough, is connective tissue. that converts into soft, luscious gelatin in hot, wet environments. so, simmering at the boiling point of water for a while really breaks it down into tender.

for this recipe though, you dont want to cook it to death, or it will fall apart into shredded pork. you just gotta find a balancing act for your meat, your stove, and your air humidity level.

so thats why they throw in a little coconut water and let it simmer for a long time. if you did the same thing, in the oven, for the same time, without water, it wouldn't be as tender.

You could always put a lid on and put it in the oven for a couple of hours

You won't get the radicalization. It needs direct heat.

edit: goddamn autocorrect. I meant caramelization.

Set it to one and put a lid on it. Check regularly if there is some liquid left which should be if you followed the instructions. Not really that hard.

Wouldn't putting a lid on it defeat the cooking down and carmalizing?

No, it doesn't. It's not air tight. After the 1.5 hours it's ging to be nicely reduced.

Why would it? I'm pretty sure you can use a lid while caramelizing

Part of the trick is reducing the liquid, which means the lid has to stay off.

Water vapor still escapes when the lid is on. If you left the lid off, it would take way less than 1.5 hours to reduce the liquid, which isn't a long enough cook time for the meat

Oh ok, thanks for the information. I’m relatively new to cooking so I wasn’t sure. I see people use lids a lot so I figured you could.

Not sure why I got downvoted for asking a question but thanks for explaining

Bullshit. It doesn't. It's true if you want to reduce a sauce in a short time. If you're simmering your meat for 2 hours you leave the lid on so that the liquid slowly reduces and doesn't get dry early. Your lid is not airtight. It reduces nice and slowly with it on. If you don't put the lid, the water boils away too quickly.

Which is why you simmer and not boil?

Did anybody here ever make a stew or something like it? Sounds really like nobody tried it before.

Personally I wouldn't simmer it for 2 hours anyway.

Reducing a liquid in cooking is a basic task/skill.

The 2 hour cook time is for the meat to braise to tenderness, and the fat/collagen to render down.

Understood, but tenderness is cut specific.

The only problem is your house is going to stink a lot from the fish sauce. It's why a lot of SE asian households have a garage kitchen or a patio kitchen when these cook these kinds of things.

Cooking with fish sauce doesn't make the house stink, unless you're really pouring it in there. There's no way a couple of tablespoons of it is going to do it on its own.

That looks like 1/4 cup of fish sauce in the GIF and you're braising it for 1 and half hours with very little liquid. It's going to stink if you don't have really good venting.

Edit: The recipe is listed as 1.5 tablespoons so it's probably combined in the 1/4 cup. Checking Vietnamese clay pot recipes also call for 1.5 and that definitely stinks up a house.

0.25 cups (US) ≈ 59.15 mL

^metric ^units ^bot ^| ^feedback ^| ^source ^| ^hacktoberfest ^| ^block ^| ^refresh ^conversion ^| ^v0.12.0-beta

This is recipetin eats. Not tasty.

Wow that looks good. Not a recipe I'm familiar with either. Well done OP.

What’s the sweetness rating on this? Is it still mostly savory? I’m not a huge fan of sweet meat, but it looks great.

I don't think it's really that sweet, it can actually be pretty damn salty

Is all salt coming from the fish sauce? My first impression is that it’s such a little amount of salt for all that pork. Unless I’m blind and misread the ingredients.

Yes, a lot of the saltiness comes from the fish sauce

Caramelization is the reason the recipe used sugar here. If done properly, you are supposed to only have added just enough sugar to give it color.

Just made the recipe exactly, and used coconut water not soda like some recommended and it was perfect. It's definitely a sweeter style of pork but I wouldn't say it's sweet. It's no where near as sweet as something you would get from a takeout place or like a sweet BBQ sauce.

I think if you used coconut soda like others recommend it would be much sweeter.

haven't made it, but for reference, if you add soy sauce, you would essentially have teriyaki

I'm just here to find out how not authentic this is. Don't disappoint me /r/GifRecipes.

It's a similar recipe to a very common Vietnamese dish that uses fattier pork with the skin on and boiled eggs stewed together.

[deleted]

.

Yeah thit kho is what I see this as. Thit cha is more this

.

[deleted]

But man, getting hit in the face with the banana leaf bound meat log is no fun. Dont throw it :)

Woah...

Yep, cha lua, but I think you can also call it thit cha since thit basically just means meat.

.

Not trying to be too much of a stickler, but the picture is cha chien, which is fried cha lua.

In my family the fried stuff is cha and the unfried stuff is gio lua.

I'm Vietnamese and not only is the spelling weird but I think all words are one syllable

Oh shit you're right. I had a feeling i had something off. Kho is the right word.

I prefer Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio but everybody likes different thit

[deleted]

I'm more of a chắc bạn sẽ tự hỏi kind of person

That's not the same kind of kho.

I dunno if my mom would make it 100% like this but it does look close enough

Well traditionally the dish is mostly often use pork belly (skin on), or in general, more fatty cut. Also there’re different on how one would simmer them. The recipe in the gif is the variation most met in central part where people like to simmer the pot down to “sticky” texture (hence the time 1-2h). While that the most common is just simmer by hafl, so you end up with meat in braising liquid, so 30-45m on low heat would do it. The liquid then can be fantastic for dipping veg, seasoning rice,... Also the half simmer version offer the ability of storing and reheat so it’s perfect for a “cook one eat the whole week” dish. Very handy for students living away.

The coconut water though is very optional. Plain water would do it just right.

What about using a pressure cooker instead of the long time simmering? Any thoughts?

I haven’t tried but yeah it should work as well. Christine Ha did so in the Masterchef ss3 finale to negate the long time required. It’d come handy for cooking large batch like the new year festival traditional dish Thit kho Tau, a very distint (and well known) variation of the dish, using ham cut with larger sized chunks and cook in coconut water (not optional though) with hard boiled eggs.

I'm vietnamese and I've seen variations of this with pork belly + shrimp or with cut up pork ribs. I would say it's actually pretty authentic.

Vietnamese dishes can vary with regions. This looks pretty legit. You can use shrimp, put some soft boiled eggs in, or even make this with fish! My Vietnamese is a bit rough, but this dish is spelled thịt khô. Pronounced tit like titties and caw rhymed with raw.

That's a different kind of kho; not caramelized.

It's thịt kho. Khô means dry

Are you sure it's spelled "thịt khô"? Because that means dry meat. I've always heard it said like "thịt kho." Also kho rhymes with raw while khô rhymes with dull.

I feel like khô is a cross between someone saying hoe and a Darth Vader breath sound.

It's a little weird. Most Vietnamese wouldn't reduce the liquid or caramelize at the end. I've always seen it with quite a bit of broth. There's a similar dish called thit kho tieu (tieu = black pepper). Where it does gets reduced, but then there's a bunch of ground black pepper.

Speaking as Mr. Vietnam, the God of Vietnam (highest title in the Land, not even on Wikipedia because it's so honorable. Don't bother looking it up just trust me), this is so fucking gash and not at all authentic!

First of all, you shouldn't use brown sugar. We actual Viets use tanned powdered cane. It's totally different.

Next, you don't use fucking "water". You use pH-neutral dihydrogen monoxide, fucking peasants.

And we don't call it "pork", we call them "pigbits". Everyone knows that.

Coconut water is ok if you don't want to put in the time to grow your own coconut tree and blend up a nice coconut slurry reduction, but honestly you should because wtf

Garlic is good

Fuck an eshallot though. You should be using French dry onions, every time. It's not up for debate.

The final dish is like 2% authentic AT MOST. This is fucking garb. I bet it tastes great and nobody really cares that much about how great of a chef I am but you fucking should, because I'm better than you and I use big words whenever possible so you know I'm for real.

Caramel Pork? Give me my Golden Pigbitz

he he he so funny

ok, so you obviously take the view that people can't criticize something for not being authentic "as long as it tastes good". not everyone agrees with that. calling it x-style or x-inspired is more accurate and doesn't give people the wrong impression.

take the piss if you want, but people aren't wrong for wanting to point out when something isn't authentic.

oh, and brown sugar is not a good substitute for cane sugar.

Thank you for allowing me to take the mickey. I appreciate the privilege you have extended to me

you're welcome.

Ha, satire.

He's being facetious.

Next, you don't use fucking "water". You use pH-neutral dihydrogen monoxide, fucking peasants.

You should be able to tell for certain by that line.

No. It's absolutely, totally different and you're literally Hitler for suggesting otherwise. No real viets (goi cuons) would make this without it. It's not true blue Viet goo as we say in Vietnam.

Aren't goi cuons the fresh spring rolls?

There's no one Vietnamese way, even and especially within Vietnam.

Watch Vietnamese street vendors make one particular dish, and you won't see one way.

honestly never seen a viet person cook meat that isnt 'grilled'(dry heat) or boiled

but i mean i just live next to an old laos/viet guy so dont quote me

close enough. My mom doesn't use scallot and does not use brown sugar just reg.

She also use either meat with skin or those spare tiny ribs meat. I'm just super surprise why this is so upvoted tho...

It’s really more of a stew than what’s there

There is a lot of varieties to this one, and several SE Asian countries have something similar. In my family we usually skip the last step because the liquid is fantastic over rice.

needs a dash of msg.

Not really. That's what the fish sauce is for.

I read camel pork at first...🐫🐖

I'd eat camel pork.

i had camel for lunch a week or so ago, it's pretty good. But camel pork would be next level

Did you eat the hump?

don't think so but not sure, it was a burger

i've had camel steak before and that was amazing

Where does one come by camel meat?

I liked camel. Really not gamey per se, but kinda salty tasting.

Glad I wasn't the only one.

I mean, I've had a camel burger before, and that was great! Camel pork is the next evolution in deliciousness...

As a man currently in Vietnam, you don't get that kind of quality meat here :'(

Where are you? It depends on the city.

Da Nang, we got good seafood though.

Ah yeah. Sài Gòn’s meat is much better. I’ve never been to Đa Nẵng, how are you liking it?

Really like it. Nice city and nice beach. TBH I seldom meet people who don't see Da Nang as their favourite spot, but maybe that's because I am currently here. It's small though.

That’s awesome. I’ll go there some day 😅

Happy about meat in Saigon? Wait til you go north! If for just the food, go to Thanh Hoa (2 hour train from Hanoi).

My favorite northern food is definitely bún chả Hà Nội. Phở Xào is great too.

I can't read that name and not think of magnum P.I.

Do you cook for yourself? I've had no problem finding excellent pork in Danang, both at Metro (forgot the new name - Mega Mart?) and Lotte. I bought pork at (what I call) the "back market" in Hoi An as well that was of great quality. I also stopped one day at one of the outdoor markets on the coastal road between Danang and Hoi An, and though I didn't buy, it looked good.Beef? I agree wholeheartedly. You have to pay through the nose for quality. But in my experience, good pork is easy to find in the Danang-Hoi An area.

More like Viet-NOM, amirite? Huh? Huh?

I'll see myself out.

Finally, my time has come.

-slaps knee-

-slaps your knee-

... I kneed an adult.

... I kneed a friend... he later died

Get outta here, DAD!

I'm viet and this helps!

Their in some peeled hard boiled eggs, served with a side of pickled mustard greens and a bowl of rice and I'm back to eating dinner with my grandma (rip)

All this needs are some quickly pickled veggies omgggg

Any idea on how to do this in an Instant Pot?

You're not going to get the same in an Instant Pot, unless you stick to saute mode. Using it as a pressure cooker, you're better off making thit kho trung, which is similar but doesn't reduce down to a sticky sauce in the same way.

Great website recommendation! Been wanting to brush up on my traditional Vietnamese dishes, some of these looks simple enough

Would be nice love mine

Just made this. Out-fucking-standing. So easy and so incredibly good. I was out of fish sauce so used a Worcester / soy mix instead. Dressed with a yuzu hot sauce on rice and lettuce with pickled shallots.

Caramelize it!

Don't criticize it!

Caramelize it, yeah, yeah

And I will advertise it!

This is NOT exactly the type of Thịt Kho a lot of supposedly Vietnamese Americans mentioned on here. Thit is more of a Thit Rim/Ram Mặn Ngọt, or salty and sweet where the sauce is a lot more reduced. You could add hard boiled eggs in it too. But the one a lot of people had mention is Thịt Kho Tàu/Tộ, depending if it is cooked in a clay pot or not and this type you are left with a lot more sauce but much more less salty and sweet. That way your rice isn’t too dry when you drown it in the sauce. I know it is similar so a lot of Viet American could get mixed up if they don’t cook a lot of Viet food.

Had to scroll so far to get the Vietnamese name for this dish! As a second gen Vietnamese American I never knew how to spell it other than the phonetic tikatil (don't make fun of me hahah) but now I know how to spell it correctly! Thank you :)

Finally someone gets it. I️ too, had to scroll too far for this.

I bet it smells wonderful when it's simmering!

could the simmering part be sped up with a pressure cooker? as long as you boiled off the liquid after?

You had me at Vietnamese Caramel Pork

This was the first gif recipe that turned out exactly as I saw it here lol. It was spectacular

Don't do this to me man. I've stopped eating meat for over a year now...

I am a crazy carnivore and eat way more meat than is good for me, and don't imagine that will ever change, however: I admire people who make the decision not to and put in the work to do it healthy. Good on ya.

I appreciate that. I mean I would prefer if people stopped eating their fellow mammals but at least respect for lifestyle choices is nice.

That pan is going to be hell to clean

A tip that I use, that a firefighter once told me, is to simply fill the pan with water and then place a dryer sheet in the water. After a few hours the pan washes clean with no hassle. I don't even want to know how this works or what chemicals are being released.

Better just pop open a frozen package of something and pop it in the mic instead! Fuck me learn to effort...

I had this in Hoi An, and I can say it is really effing good.

Can you replace the fish oil with anything, or is it important to add it? Fish allergies

Maybe substitute with a good soy sauce. They both have similar profiles in terms of umami and saltiness.

for those of you that haven't worked with vietnamese people, this is a take on a pretty common/basic sauce idea. sugar, water, soy sacue. in this case, fish sauce. 3, 2, 1 helen tran would say. something like 3 parts water, 2 parts sugar, 1 part soy sauce, by volume.

so you can do this with all sorts of things, and it comes out great.

looks very simple and very nice! Certainly gonna try it

😋

This seems like thit kho, but without using pork belly and subtracting the boiled eggs.

Basically the same thing except the thit kho trung you’re talking about is the same except with more liquid and so you end up simmering/stewing it instead of caramelizing. Then you add the soft boiled eggs towards the end of the cooking so it picks up the flavor.

Thank you and /u/idlephase for expanding my Vietnamese cooking vocabulary. I first had thit kho trung about 15 years ago from an older Vietnamese gentleman who had migrated over here from Saigon. He would pour a can of coke into it instead of caramelized sugar, and it was instantly one of my favorite dishes. The eggs that have soaked in the flavor turning them brown was my favorite part. I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't had the chance to try it.

Sounds awesome! Yes my mom makes that all the time. That with rice along with some picked mustard greens is to die for

This is thit kho ~~tieu~~.

No just regular thit kho. For thit kho tieu, they’d need to add a lot of pepper. Which there was none in this video.

Hah. I added the pepper in my head.

Damn that looks yummy.

Tocino.

Sounds like tocino, but does tocino take 1.5 to 2 hours to cook?

I came yo

Thank you for sharing this

I wouldn't use brown sugar. That would just make it waay too sweet. I use regular sugar and melt that down into a caramel not too dark though with some oil then add in the meat that I've preseasoned with the garlic/shallots, thai chilis, and fish sauce. Then add in the coconut juice/soda/water then let it braise. Depending on how long you keep it going and how much liquid there is left you can either be left with a stewy version of thit kho or a drier one like the gif. Pork belly or pork steaks would do the job. They used such massive chunks of pork it'll take way too long to get tender.

Holy shit monkies.

M E A L T H Y

This is dinner this weekend. Any tips?

Three of my favourite things! Salt, sugar and saturated fat!

It looked like they were zooming in to the pork molecules.

[deleted]

Must've smelled good, your pug was dying for a taste!

When did you add the egg? It should be brown!

[deleted]

hard boil, peel, and add them in for the last half hour

I hate when these recipes don’t tell you the portions needed

This looks tasty!

Youve never had an asian mom cook for you? They just throw that shit in.

Just got done cooking this.

My local grocery store on the way home from work only had pork shoulder steaks..so my dish wash reduced and tender within an hour.

I did have to top off my water with more coconut water. But it turned out frwat..I did mine without sides or rice..but will definitely be cooking this again in the future

If I'm right, this looks like a more Northern Viet style of Thit Kho. The variants I've had, Northern style is drier and saltier whereas Southern is sweeter and has more liquid.

I prefer the Souther style. My mother makes it with CocoRico (as a person above has said) but instead of brown sugar (which I've never seen a Vietnamese person use), she uses regular sugar and "caramel color" sauce. She cooks it like this for an hour then cooks it in a pressure cooker. It comes out way softer that way.

I can't remember what the caramel color sauce is but it is from a big asian brand with "caramel color" labeled.

When my parents made this for me as a kid, after they put the meat and juices in a serving bowl, they would add some rice in the pan to soak up the rest of the bits and fat in the pan. That rice was sooooo good.

Mostly a lurker but wanted to show my appreciation for this recipe, really enjoyed making it and eating it a lot. Burned these a tiny bit and still loved them lol

Thanks for posting!

Vietnamese here. This looks totally awesome, but I myself will consider to marinate the meat with sugar + oyster sauce + coconut milk for 1 night before cooking. It will reduce the meat's smell as well as create a base scent for the food.

And if you have more time, consider boiling some eggs also. They really go well together. Works everytime.

Does anyone know if this would be good with beef instead? I have a Beef shoulder in the fridge that i was looking to make something tasty out of.

Just made this. It's sooooo good

Saving for later.

[deleted]

My wife made this last weekend. It was incredible. The flavor is unbelievable. She made it with coconut brown rice. Definitely recommend.

I just made this, and it was amazing! Tender, sweet, delicious. The pickled carrots were a brilliant side, perfect fit. I had to add water three times, and next time I’m letting it simmer more than 90 minutes. Thanks for this. I’m making this again.

I'm still making this 5 years later, lol. Just wanted to let you know again it's really stellar.

Would it really take 1.5-2 hours to cook the pork?

That seems really long to me.

It doesn't take that long for it to reach the appropriate internal temperature, but the longer lower cooking tenderizes the meat. Same principle as a pot roast!

They are very tough cuts of meat. It's necessary to make it tender.

Pork is "done" at somewhere around 165-175. But with pork butt, cooking slowly to around 202-205 really does wonders for the texture.

I started smoking meat this summer and it's really magical what happens at ~205 degrees with pork butt.

Keep in mind that it's on low to medium heat, so it's cooking pretty slowly

In a word. Yes.

Pork shoulder is much different than something like tenderloin or pork chops.

You can get similar taste from the reduction and caramelization, but if you blast it for a shorter cook you'll need to cut them smaller and have a fattier piece of cut to help speed up cooking without hardening it

it seems rather short for me. I usually cook pork shoulder for 6-8 hours.

Oh my god. That looks fantastic.

[deleted]

Can I replace the pork with a nice sirloin, the brown sugar with A1, and the pot with a charcoal grill?

No seasoning? Do you not add salt or does the fish sauce account for that?

Fish sauce is pretty salty and often used in asian kitchen like how we use salt. I guess for more western taste you could add some salt too though after tasting

And this dish will forever be ruined for me as I read it as Vietnamese Camel Pork.

Commenting so I can find it again! Thanks, OP!

Do you not have a save* button?

Dude. I had no idea that existed. Thank you!

Is that like a safe word?

Can this be made with chicken instead? For us non-pork eaters

The chicken will dry out too much. Needs to be a fatty cut. I guess you could try beef. Wouldn’t be quite the same though unfortunately.

Use bone in-chicken thighs and cut across the bone with a cleaver. Once the thighs are cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and reduce until desired thickness then add the chicken back.

Yes you can. Use a fatty cut like thighs or chicken wings. It will cook a lot quicker though so beware.

I'll second this. IF Youre going to try it, use thighs.

It may be possible to do some of the reduction before adding the meat as well. So if it's 1.5 for pork shoulder, maybe it's 45 minutes with thighs. You could reduce the caramel glaze for a while without the meat.

I'm not in any way saying those times are correct. Just offering possibilities.

Yes, but you have to make it like a stir fired dish if you want to use chicken breast. Gingers and lemon grasses are also strongly recommended.

Comment for later. Making this.

Seems like it could work nicely for pork cheeks too

That's some very clear fish sauce there.

Would it be better to sear the pork before adding it to the pot?

I think the caramelized sugar will add enough of both texture and flavor where it probably wouldn't be noticed.

Looks great, can’t wait to try it myself! Thanks!

I'd like to try that with something to make it spicy.

The fish sauce looked pale as hell but recipe looks pretty damn good.

Trying this tomorrow!

I don't like meat but that looks so fucking good

Would this also work for chicken or fish?

Laotian people make it with chicken. Just buy bone-in chicken thighs and cut across the bone with a cleaver to get the big chunks.

How does it not burn to the pan?

That fat from the pork...

I happen to have a pork shoulder in the fridge and I didn't know what I should do with it. Thanks

What's this called in Vietnamese? I wonder if my parents can make it for me haha

Content not by BuzzFeed with full recipe in comments.

Please take my upvote.

Ate a lot of that in 70-72 with rice.

Haha, anything is possible with a burger. I actually didn't know people ate camel on any regular basis. I would try it if I had the chance.

Looks really good and must taste pretty sweet.

So this is like Vietnamese carnitas? Nice.

These dishes work so well because the pork renders the fat into the braising liquid and then as the liquid evaporates the pork cubes deep fry themselves in they're own fat automatically. Fucking delicious.

I have never seen coconut water as an ingredient before in my life (I have used it in smoothies but that's it.) This is interesting. Definitely gonna make it.

Looks awesome

Damn, fish sauce, brown sugar, shallots, and garlic? That's like, my flavor profile.

I’m going to try making this. Thanks for posting

Not as familiar with Vietnamese cooking but I'm pretty sure this is actually a Laotian dish called "Thom Khem".

I have a feeling trying this recipe would destroy my saucepan. Can't cook in it w.o everything sticking

OMG that was good! Now who's gonna clean the pan? I'll do it man-style: put water in it and let it soak.

r/restofthefuckingowl

Wow. I used to eat this shit at my neighbor's house a lot in high school. I didn't know it was this simple.

So this is how my mom made it. Just without eggs.

Wow! Caramel Pork? ... #OpenMyMind

mmmm dat way the sugar bubbles

Pork coated in sugar! Mmmmm!

Could you do this without the coconut water and fish sauce?

This is part of the reason why I miss eating meat sometimes

Fuck. I've been eating this all my life and didn't realize that it had that much sugar in it.

Could possibly do this faster and more tender in a pressure cooker?

This looks so tasty, but fish allergies in the house make it impossible :(

[deleted]

I imagine the loss of umami would be noticeable. Soy sauce seems to be an option, and Worcestershire, but I think the latter would clash terribly with the caramel flavour.

!isbot

I am 101% sure that perrycohen is a bot.

^(I am a Neural Network being trained to detect spammers | Summon me with !isbot <username> |) ^Optout ^| ^Feedback: ^/r/SpamBotDetection ^| ^GitHub

My fav.

Cook this outdoor if you can because the smell will linger.

If there isn't a chance of cracking your teeth on shards of bone, this ain't no Vietnamese /s

how caramelize?

Dope

Tocino?

read camel pork at first

Eat this shit for lunch with eggs. Was not dissapointed :D

Eschallots? Issa thissatalian, or-a-Vietnamese?

So am I the only that thinks it’s crazy how they used the chopsticks in reverse to rip open that piece?

Will do this on the weekends. Though we don’t eat meat without veggies. What kind of veggies do you guys think will suit for this?

Is there a replacement for fish sauce?

Will this method work well on Chicken?

Is Eschallot like onions? I think in my country haven't it

How to make a Vietnamese dish: add fish sauce.

RemindMe! 4 days "Go to the store"

The one time where you'll be able to say that the meat is caramelizing without having the Maillard Police popping up... Cherish it!

It's crazy how much sugar goes in so many recipes here. No wonder the west get obese.

This is a vietnamese dish. What are you on about?

This post is more proof that I would be depressed on a vegan diet

I made this tonight and it's great. I added some chili sauce and black pepper to try to balance the sweetness a bit.

Thanks for sharing it!

I just cooked this with tenderloin pork and substituted fish sauce for soy sauce. It was tasty. Might use less sugar next time. Some lime could complement the taste.

caramel ftw!

What’s a good substitute for coconut water?

I purchased a frying pan for my induction hob just so I could try this recipe out. Was delicious.

You fucked the dish up!!! OMG wth is this??? Tbh, I’m from Vietnam and we do have a dish like this, but it not as burnt and terrible looked as this one

Gonna try this one tonight

Hmm, I tried making this, but only got smaller bits of pork butt. It did not caramellize at all! The stock just evaporised from the pot. Should I have used more sugar and water to caramellize the smaller bits of meat? (=more area to cover?)

If it didn't caramellize it's possible your meat just didn't have the fat content needed? The idea is that the fat eventually separates from the meat and that's essential to the process.

Ahh, it might be! I got ham, which is butt right? The cut had fat in it, but maybe not enough. Meat turned out tasting good and relatively tender. I ate it today again and pairing it with Asian style sauce from hoisin, soy sauce, fish sauce and honey. 👍

Made this last night.. it was amazing! I added 2 tablespoons of sambal and a teaspoon of crushed red chillies to add some heat.

Is there an alternative to fish sauce?

Vietnamese version uses fish sauce but you can use soy sauce or oyster sauce if you want oyster flavour and is lighter than soy sauce. I usually add both about 1/2 cup of soy sauce with 1 tbsp of oyster sauce.

Uuuuh ok ok. I love soy sauce. Thanks a lot!!

TMight maxim irkry y paykyvynbkd Yugbwyjgekf ?;)

Coconut water sounds like a pretty non-authentic ingredient for Vietnamese food

How is this not pork jerky? I feel like it would be really dry after all that simmering.

Pork shoulder is best when it slowly comes up to just over 200 degrees and stays there a while. I'm not sure about this specific method as I haven't tried it, but it doesn't seem out of this world crazy.

it's called braising. it's a great way of cooking certain meats. like pork shoulder.

I made this last night and it turned out great; not dry at all. I used large, irregular chunks of pork shoulder cut while it was still mostly frozen. I think the smaller the chunks the most you risk drying it out.

[deleted]

It adds the salt component to the dish. It mellows out. You don't taste the fishiness at all.

Yeah, don't smell it, it's misleading. It's NOT meant to make your food taste like rotten vajay. You just add small amounts to a dish. The bad flavor turns into a little depth and saltiness.

Once i had a bottle fall and shatter, and it spilled everywhere.

Rest in pepperoni lateef

it is supposed to smell like that. I use it in everything I can. Cacio e pepe finished off with a few dabs of fish sauce is excellent.

Coconut water

I'll stick with regular water

Actually it's a Chinese traditional food when does it become a Vietnamese food?

Christ, thought I was on a gore subreddit for a half second there

Fish sauce? Yuck!

Tape worms

More likely you're thinking of trichinella spiralis, but I sincerely doubt the eggs would survive this heat.

Only stupid thoughts here. God I hate Reddit these days. I wish there was actual intelligence and comments of value instead of people simply being surprised there were anchovies in Worcestershire sauce. I only write this comment so those who feel the same as I do can know they have comrades of higher thinking in this godforsaken place.

/r/iamverysmart

Are you the only one in your group of friends who really understands Rick & Morty?

Referencing a drastically overused thought to “cut to the core of me,” eh? Clever.

Hey if the fedora fits...

Pulled pork with brown sugar...... next?

[removed]

[deleted]

Caramelized would be a better word.

Caramel is burnt sugar. Which is like the first thing they made...

I know but they were just splitting hairs.

[deleted]

If we want to be technically correct (which is the best kind of correct), caramelizing is the process of turning sugars already present in the food into a browned crust on the outside of the food. This is correctly described as caramel pork, because they do make actual caramel in the pan with straight sugar and water before adding anything else.