← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 1 kg Pork belly, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 5 tbsp Fish sauce
• 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 6 Eggs
• 2 tbsp sugar, for the caramel
• 2 tbsp water, for the caramel
• 1 l coconut water (not coconut milk)
• ½ tsp salt, to taste
• 2 Spring onion, sliced, to serve
• 1 Red chilli, sliced, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Mix the pork with the fish sauce, garlic, shallots and pepper. Leave to marinate for 30 min (or overnight in the fridge).
2. Meanwhile, lower the eggs into boiling water and cook for 8–9 min. Cool them in cold water and peel.
3. Put the sugar and water in a heavy pot over medium heat and leave it, swirling the pot now and then, for 3–5 min until the caramel turns a deep amber. Watch it closely: it burns in seconds.
4. Carefully add the pork (it will spit) and turn it in the caramel for 5 min until coated and lightly browned.
5. Pour in the coconut water, plus a little water if needed to just cover the pork. Bring to the boil, skim off the foam, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour.
6. Add the eggs and simmer for 30 min more, turning them occasionally, until the pork is meltingly tender and the eggs are stained amber. Taste and add salt or a splash more fish sauce.
7. Scatter with spring onion and chilli. Serve with steamed rice and something crunchy, such as pickled mustard greens or cucumber.

Tips

• It tastes even better the next day. Chill it overnight, lift off the set fat, and reheat until bubbling.
• No coconut water? Coconut soda or plain water with a little extra sugar works too.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham Wok and Kin