Caramelized Pork Rice Bowls: A Taste of Vietnam

Sweet, spicy, and crunchy-chewy, this quick and easy version of Vietnamese caramelized pork is a flavour bomb. Pile it into a bowl on top of cooked rice, add a few fresh veggies or roasted peanuts, and you've got a fantastic take-out dish in your hands in no time and with little effort. (Skip to recipe.)

We're heading off on another armchair traveling adventure with our Eat the World recipe challenge - this time to colourful, exotic Vietnam. This country is one at the top of my bucket list for sure.

Both my sons have spent extended times living or traveling there and after seeing a lot of the rest of the world, rate Vietnam as the top country in the world for delicious food. They rave about the amazing meals they've eaten there, about the perfect balance of flavours in every dish, even the humblest street food prepared in single burner stoves out of a moving cart on the roadside. They tell me that there's an unbelievable abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables which find their way into an infinite range of dishes. They've marveled at the explosions of flavour from simple meals that cost just pennies. And they talk about the stunning beauty and variety of Vietnam's landscape.

The beauty of the country alone would be a huge lure for me, but add in the siren call of tasting one of the world's most delicious cuisines, so fresh and vibrant, and I'm hooked.

That wonderful balance of flavours really shines in this simplified version of a beloved Vietnamese dish of slow braised pork belly in a rich sweet caramel sauce (Thit Kho). It's got all of the rich, sweet caramelization without the hours of simmering, the same addictive combination of sweetness and spice, with a jolt of salty umami. I'm excited to share with you a dish I discovered about a year ago, and have been making often since. We devour it like it's candy!

Caramelized pork is an unusual topping for a rice bowl, in that there's no sauce. It's just little nubbins of sweet and spicy pork, slightly chewy and a little bit crunchy. Vietnamese cuisine makes ample use of fish sauce to add a rich layer of complex flavour to many of its dishes. And in this caramelized pork dish, it combines with sweetness from brown sugar and a pinch of spicy pepper, plus a squeeze of fresh lime at the end. It's simple to make in a short time, a wonderful way to get that exciting balance of Vietnamese tastes. You can whip it up quickly on a weeknight for a fantastic taste of Southeast Asia. I think you've just got to try it yourself.

It'll have to hold you until you can make it to Vietnam to enjoy the original version made with love and years of experience by a smiling-faced vendor and his little roadside cart.

 

Quick and Simple - Vietnamese Caramelized Pork

Chop an onion, grate a carrot, mince or grate some garlic and ginger, and add it to hot oil in a skillet along with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.

Pop in the ground pork (or chicken, turkey, or beef) and break it up with a wooden spoon.

Keep cooking until it's no longer pink.

Then add a good amount of brown sugar and fish sauce. Be prepared for a 'fishy' smell (plug your nose) but I promise you, it will all disappear by the time the meat is cooked to a sweet, sticky, crispy level of divine deliciousness. You won't even know there's fish sauce in there. You'll just wonder what that absolutely irresistible flavour is and what makes it so complex and sooooooooo moreish. Fish sauce is a magical way to add a deep level of umami with one simple ingredient.

Now stir the mixture, and then just let it bubble away without stirring until all the liquid cooks off and you start to hear sizzling. Let the meat caramelize on the bottom to a burnished brown colour before you stir it.

Cook again, undisturbed til brown on the bottom, then stir. Do this two or three more times (cooking til browned, then stirring) until you have a lot of lovely sticky dark bits of caramelization happening on the meat.

Look at all those crispy, sticky sweet bits - yum! Your caramelized pork is now ready to devour. A few sliced green onions add a nice flavour contrast.

Spoon it on top of a bowl of rice, add a simple salad of cucumber and tomato chunks, a handful of grated carrot, a few salted peanuts, and a squeeze of lime.

That is a bowl of flipping fantastic flavour!

* * * * *

Kitchen Frau Notes: Use any ground meat instead of the pork, if you wish (chicken, turkey, beef).

Use however many or few of the toppings you'd like to add. I've even just served the rice, caramelized pork, and a few slices of undressed cucumbers and tomatoes, and the meal was a raving success, with every last crumble devoured.

This caramelized pork is also fantastic served in lettuce wraps with a few fresh toppings, or as a filling in rice paper salad rolls.

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Rice Bowls

inspired by 'Wild, Wild East: Recipes & Stories from Vietnam' by Bobby Chinn

for the caramelized pork:

• 2 tablespoons oil
• ½ of a medium onion, chopped (~½ cup)
• 1 medium carrot, shredded (~½ cup)
• 1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or grated
• ¼ teaspoon dried chili flakes/crushed red pepper or 1 fresh red chili pepper, minced
• 1 lb (454 g) ground pork (or ground chicken, turkey, or beef)
• ¼ cup (50 g) firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce

to assemble the bowls:

• cooked rice (white or brown) to serve 4
• 2 green onions/scallions, diagonally sliced
• 1 lime, quartered
• salted, roasted peanuts, chopped or whole
• shredded raw carrot
• quick fresh veg salad: half of a long English cucumber and 1 large or 2 medium tomatoes cut into chunks and tossed with 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, ½ teaspoon sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt
• chopped fresh cilantro
• additional crushed red pepper flakes, if desired, to add spiciness

Set the rice on to cook.

In a large skillet (12-inch/30cm works best as it gives more surface area and evaporates the liquid more quickly), heat the oil over medium heat.

Add the onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, and crushed red pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the carrots are limp.

Add the pork, breaking it into smaller bits with a spatula or wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink.

Add the brown sugar and fish sauce, and stir to coat all the meat. (You will notice a strong fish odour at first, but plug your nose and bear with it, as the fishy odour will completely disappear by the time the meat is caramelized.) Leave the meat to cook, without stirring it, until all the liquid has evaporated and you start to hear a sizzling sound as the meat starts to brown at the bottom. This will take 6 to 8 minutes, but watch it carefully in case your stove or pan cook hotter. Check often by lifting a bit of the ground pork at the edge of the pan to see if it is browning underneath.

Once the meat has browned nicely underneath, stir it all up and leave it to cook for another 1½ to 2 minutes without stirring, until the bottom browns again.

Repeat the step of 1½ to 2 minutes of browning without stirring, then stirring, another 2 to 3 times until the pork is browned and caramelized, with lots of crispy bits. Just watch it carefully as it can burn quickly.

To serve: Set out large wide bowls and the ingredients for people to fill their own bowls. Start with rice. Top with some of the meat, a small mound of shredded carrot, a portion of the quick fresh veg salad, and a sprinkling of peanuts and sliced green onions. Add a lime wedge to each bowl and pass the dried pepper flakes for anyone to spice up their bowl.

Serves 4.

Guten Appetit!

 

Check out all the wonderful Vietnamese dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

Pandemonium Noshery: Bánh Tráng Nướng
Magical Ingredients: Vietnamese Summer Spring Rolls
Sneha’s Recipe: Vietnamese Che Chuoi /Coconut and Sago Pudding
Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Vietnamese Chicken Porridge (Chao Ga)
Sugarlovespices: Vietnamese Kabocha Squash Soup
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Cà Phê Trứng (Vietnamese Egg Coffee)
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Easy Beef Pho
Making Miracles: Vietnamese Style Beef with Garlic, Black Pepper, and Lime
Kitchen Frau: Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls
Palatable Pastime: Vietnamese Inspired Marinated Bean Salad

 

Want to receive new Kitchen Frau recipes directly to your email? Sign up here and you’ll get a handy and useful kitchen tip along with each recipe, too.  (No spam ever.)

If you like my recipes, follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook. You’d make my day!

Don’t forget to PIN IT to save the recipe:

Check out my past ‘Eat the World’ Recipe Challenge posts:

(in alphabetical order)

• Argentina: Red Chimichurri Sauce
• Bangladesh: Chingri Masala (Shrimp Curry)
• Bulgaria: Patatnik (Savoury Potato and Cheese Pie)
• Cambodia: Noum Kong (Cambodian Rice Flour Doughnuts)
• Colombia: Pan de Yuca (Warm Cheese Buns)
• Egypt: Fava Beans and Feta
• England: Gluten Free Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas
• Ethiopia: Four Ethiopian Recipes for a Fantastic Feast
• Fiji: Spiced Sweet Potato and Banana Salad
• Finland: Lohikeitto (Creamy Salmon, Potato, and Dill Soup)
• France: Axoa d’Espelette (A Simple Stew from the Basque Country)
• Georgia: Charkhlis Chogi (Beets with Sour Cherry Sauce)
• Hungary: Túrós Csusza (Pasta with Cottage Cheese)
• India: Kerala Upma (Fluffy, Kerala Style Breakfast Upma Recipe)
• Iraq: Tepsi Baytinijan (Eggplant & Meatball Casserole)
• Ireland: Dublin Coddle (A tasty Sausage and Potato Stew)
• Israel: Cucumber, Feta, and Watermelon Salad
• Jamaica: Rice and Peas (Coconut Rice and Red Beans)
• Kenya: Maharagwe with Ugali (Red Beans with Cornmeal Slice)
• Laos: Ping Gai (Lao Grilled Chicken Wings)
• Mexico: Cochinita Pibil Tacos (Pit Barbecued Pig to Make in Your Oven)
• Netherlands: Boerenkool Stamppot (Kale-Potato Mash with Sausages & Pears)
• New Zealand: Classic Pavlova
• Poland: Polish Honey Cake
• Portugal: Tuna and Sardine Pâtés
• Puerto Rico: Piña Colada Cocktail
• Senegal: Mafé (Beef and Peanut Stew)
• Sweden: Swedish Meatballs with Cream Gravy
• Switzerland (Christmas): Basler Leckerli Cookies
• Thailand: Shrimp Laksa (Khung)
• Trinidad & Tobago: Peanut Butter Prunes
• Ukraine: Buckwheat Kasha with Beef
• United States (Soul Food): Smothered Pork Chops