This Michael Bao Huynh’s vietnamese caramelized pork recipe is amaaazzzing that we needed to share this with you right away. It’s traditionally made with pork belly, but works great with pork shoulder while being a little less rich.
Vietnamese Caramelized Pork
1.5 cup sugar
2.5 lbs pork shoulder or belly, sliced into thin, inch-long strips
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup fish sauce (we just substituted a slightly diluted 1/4 cup of soy sauce)
2 heaping tsp minced garlic
1 dash sesame oil
1 medium onion, sliced
4 scallions, greens only
Rice for serving
1. Cover bottom of large, heavy skillet with one cup of sugar and place over medium low heat until it melts and turns golden.
2. Add pork to skillet, raise heat to medium, and stir until coated (sugar will become sticky and probably harden, but will re-melt as the dish cooks).
3. Stir in remaining sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce (or substitute). Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Uncover, stir in garlic and oil, and lower to simmer to reduce sauce for 20 minutes.
5. Stir in onion and cook until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Pork should be caramelized. If not, raise heat and saute while sauce further reduces.
6. Sprinkle with scallions and serve over rice.
7. Enjoy!
Note: You can add some additional veggies to this meal by steaming some broccoli or cauliflower, and stirring it into the sauce right before serving.