Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly and Eggs
This Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly and Eggs recipe creates succulent, tender, and juicy pork belly braised in a sweet and savory coconut fish sauce. Thit kho trung is commonly made to celebrate Tet (Vietnamese New Year) but I eat it year round in my family because it's just that good. The braising liquid is an umami packed liquid gold that you'll want to pour over rice to create a brothy rice you can slurp right up!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lb pork belly
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 4 ½ cups coconut water
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 8-10 hard boiled eggs
Instructions
- Parboil the pork belly: Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the pork belly in. Cook the pork belly for 5-10 minutes or until the pork belly has stopped releasing impurities. Drain and rinse the pork under cold water.
- Pat the pork belly dry and cut it into 1 inch pieces. Set it aside while we make the caramel.
- Caramelize the sugar: In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over low heat, add the granulated sugar. Give the pot a shake to evenly distribute the sugar. Allow the sugar to melt and caramelize without stirring it. It is critical to not stir the sugar while it is melting. Stirring it will disturb the crystallization process and cause it to seize and become clumpy. However, you can tilt the pot to try to spread the caramelized sugar as it melts. The caramel will turn from a light amber to a deep golden brown.
- Once the caramel reaches a deep golden brown, cautiously add water and quickly give it a stir with a wooden spatula to break up any large chunks of caramel. Be careful as there may be splattering. Continue stirring until most of the caramel dissolves. It's ok if not all of dissolves.
- Add the pork belly pieces and sear on each side in the caramel.
- Toss the pork belly with a wooden spatula. Scrape any remaining caramel bits until fully dissolved. Add in the garlic and cook it for 1-2 minutes until softened.
- Add in coconut water and fish sauce. Bring to a boil and skim off any remaining impurities that come to the surface (it's ok if some rogue garlic pieces are skimmed off). Reduce to a simmer and cover for 45 minutes to an hour or until the pork is tender.
- Add in hard boiled eggs and continue simmering for 15 minutes. Toss occasionally to ensure the eggs absorb the liquid evenly on all sides. Remove from heat and enjoy over rice!
Notes
- Don't skip the blanching step! Blanching the pork removes blood and impurities, resulting in a cleaner, less murky braising liquid.
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There are two ways to make caramelized sugar. The first way is with sugar and oil and the second way is with sugar and water. Either way works but I prefer the method with sugar and water since it will make the end result less oily. The sugar and water method is the method I included in this recipe card. However, I've found the sugar and oil method to be easier. I've broken down the sugar and oil method below:
- Sugar and oil method: Add 3 tablespoons of oil and granulated sugar to a pot. Stir the sugar to coat it in the oil. Add more oil as needed. Continue stirring until the sugar melts and caramelizes.
- Toss the eggs occasionally. Once the eggs are added to the braising liquid, give the eggs a gentle toss every few minutes. This will ensure they absorb the sauce throughout and color evenly on all sides.
