Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Servings: 6
Caramelized pork with eggs, also known as thịt kho trứng, is a classic and very popular dish in Vietnam. Its slow cooking allows the meat to be extremely tender and tasty. It is often consumed during daily meals, but also during the Vietnamese Lunar New Year.
INGREDIENTS
- 1kg pork belly
- 8 to 10 eggs
- 100g sugar
- 50ml water
- 500ml coconut water
- 50ml nuoc mam
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic
PREPARATION
Boil the eggs for 10 minutes then rinse them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Let them cool before peeling them and setting them aside.
Cut the pork belly into large cubes (4x4 cm). Keep the rind. In a large saucepan, boil 2 liters of water. Peel the garlic cloves and chop two of them before adding them to the boiling water. Add the meat and salt. Lower the heat and keep the water simmering for 15 minutes. Skim off any impurities during the cooking. Turn off the heat and set the saucepan aside.
In a pot over fairly high heat, prepare the caramel using the sugar and water. As soon as the sugar begins to brown slightly, quickly stir the liquid caramel. Turn off the heat.
Immediately add the cubes of pork and the remaining 2 finely chopped garlic cloves. Combine the ingredients with the caramel and put the pot back on the heat. Brown the ingredients very quickly, while coating the meat with caramel. Add the coconut water, nuoc mam and salt. Cover the pot and continue to cook the caramelized pork for 1 hour and 15 minutes, while maintaining a slight simmer.
Add the shelled hard-boiled eggs and pepper 30 minutes before the end of the cooking.
Enjoy your meal!