Vietnamese caramelized pork (thit kho)

So…here’s my first Vietnamese recipe! I know, I know, this can seem odd in a French food blog, but hang on with me, I’ll explain why.

Vietnam was once a French colony. Regardless of what can be thought about colonialism (and I won’t venture there in a food blog!), this has led to some interesting food influences on both sides. Think about Indian and UK food traditions.

In Vietnam, some dishes have been influenced by the French: things like the Banh Mi sandwich in its very French baguette or the god-like Pho which some believe was inspired by the French Pot-au-feu.

In France, we associate a lot of Vietnamese specialties to what we broadly call “Chinese food” – which is, really, a melting pot of South East, Chinese and Japanese food. Things like the Vietnamese rolls (fried or fresh) are very popular for example, and we have A LOT OF Vietnamese restaurants around (have a walk in the 13th District in Paris – you’ll see what I mean).

The caramelized pork is bit more obscure to the average French person, but I wanted to start with this one because 1. It’s dead easy 2. It’s delicious 3. It has been a family classic for many generations.

And yes.. another reason for me to write about Vetnamese food is that it is for me, truly, food from back Home. Not going through my entire family tree, but my dad was born in Vietnam from a Vietnamese mother and a mixed French-Vietnamese father, born in Vietnam too. It’s complicated. But what it means, is that I have been eating a lot of Vietnamese food for a very long time.

Preparation time

Ingredients

The meat

• 4 pork shoulder steak
• 3 pork belly slices
• 1 big white onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 thumb of ginger
• 4 tbsp of sugar
• 100ml of coconut water
• 150ml of water
• 4 tbsp of fish sauce (more or less to taste)
• 4 eggs
• Black pepper to taste

The Garnish

• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 bunch of thai basil (optional)
• 4 spring onions
• Siracha sauce to taste

Method

Cut the meat and the onion in small chunks and start frying on high heat in a deep casserole dish.

Whilst the meat is starting to brown, mince/crush/grate the garlic and the ginger and add in the dish with the meat. Add the black pepper and fish sauce (don’t get put off by the fish sauce smell – it will quickly evaporate).

Mix 150ml of water with 100ml of coconut water in a separate bowl. Set aside.

In a small sturdy pot, put 4 tablespoons of sugar and let it caramelize under a gentle heat. Don’t add any water and don’t touch it until it starts to get brown. Once the caramel starts forming, keep a close eye on it and keep stiring. You want a dark caramel, but you don’t want to burn it! Stop the heat before you think it’s ready – the caramel will keep cooking quickly, even with the heat off. Stir in the water/coconut water (carefully!!!) and put back on the heat until the caramel has melted again.

Then add the caramel mix to the meat, cover, and let it simmer.

Now it’s time to do the eggs! In the same pot you used to do the caramel, put 4 eggs and cover with boling water. Cook the eggs on medium heat for 10 minutes. Once cooked, run the eggs under cold water (otherwise you will burn yourself) and peel them off. Now you will make 4/5 incisions in the length of each eggs, to ensure that the delicious juices are going everywhere, and add the eggs to the meat/caramel mix. Make sure that the eggs are as covered by the sauce as much as possible.

Cover the dish again and cook for a further 20 minutes, turning the eggs over after 10 minutes. At this stage I usually start the rice, which takes about 20 minutes, so it times perfectly with the meat.

Chop the herbs off, cut your cucumber in half lengthwise and then slice it. Put the garnish is separate bowls.

To serve, start with the rice, then add the meat, 1 egg per person and cover with the garnish. Finish of with some Siracha!

Tip: As for every stew, it is always better re-heated the next day!