Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls

 

Ingredients

• ▢1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil (I use peanut oil)
• ▢1/2 onion , finely diced (brown, white or yellow) (~1/2 cup)
• ▢2 tsp ginger , grated or minced
• ▢2 garlic cloves , minced (2 tsp paste)
• ▢1 birds eye or Thai chili , deseeded and finely chopped (Note 1)
• ▢1 lb / 500g ground pork (mince) (Note 2)
• ▢5 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢2 tbsp fish sauce

SERVING:

• ▢1 green onion stem , finely sliced
• ▢Rice
• ▢Sliced red chilli, tomato, cucumber (optional)

InstructionsHeat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.

• Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the pork mince and cook for 2 minutes or so until white all over, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
• Add the sugar and fish sauce. Stir, then leave it to cook without touching until all the juices cook out and the pork starts caramelised - about 2 minutes. Then stir it and leave it again, without stirring, for around 30 seconds to get more caramelisation. Repeat twice more until caramelised to your taste.
• Serve over rice or vermicelli noodles, garnished with sliced scallions/shallots. For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! I like to have chunks of plain cucumber and carrots on the side which is a classic way of making Vietnamese bowls. Recipe Notes:

1. Birds eye chilis are small red chilis that are usually around 3 to 4cm (1.5 - 2") long. They are very spicy! You can substitute with any chili you want, or even exclude it if you are making this for kids. Just adjust to your taste.

This dish is great to serve with sriracha on the side so people can add the amount of heat they want.

2. Other meat - recipe works great with chicken and turkey too. Beef will also work well.

3. Lemongrass is a lovely and very traditional Vietnamese herb used in dishes like this. 1 stalk, white part only, very VERY finely chopped. Add it into the skillet with the garlic. 

If you have lemongrass paste (see ingredient photo in post), add it with the brown sugar.

4. Nutrition is for the pork stir fry only, excludes the rice and assumes you use a lean pork (10% fat).
https://www.recipetineats.com/vietnamese-caramelised-pork-bowls/