Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly (Thịt Ba Rọi Xào Mặn)

1x1 shot of caramelized pork belly with black pepper and scallions.

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly (Thịt Ba Rọi Xào Mặn)

This Vietnamese caramelized pork belly (thịt ba rọi xào mặn) uses only 4 core ingredients and comes together in under 30 minutes! It's sweet, salty, and full of umami. It has been my family's go-to dinner for 20 years because of how easy it is and I know it'll be a go-to of yours too!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 635kcal

Ingredients

1 ½ lb pork belly
2 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil
2 garlic cloves lightly smashed
Black pepper
Scallions for garnishing

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the pork belly, return to a boil and parboil for 5-10 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water.
Pat pork belly dry and slice into thin pieces, about 1 centimeter thick.
To a large pan or pot over low heat, add garlic and oil. Saute briefly for 30 seconds or until fragrant and add sugar. Allow sugar to melt and caramelize. Once the sugar begins to melt, stir the melted sugar with the unmelted sugar to help the sugar caramelize evenly.
Once the sugar is caramelized to a light amber, carefully add pork belly slices. Be cautious of any oil and caramel splattering. Sear it on one side until lightly caramelized and flip. Some of the caramel will seize up and that is ok!
Add fish sauce and cover for 5 minutes, stirring often so it doesn't burn or over caramelize on one side. Continue tossing until all sides are evenly coated in the caramel and all the remaining caramel has dissolved. Adjust fish sauce to taste and top with freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with scallions. Enjoy with rice and cucumbers!

Notes

Thoroughly pat the pork belly dry to avoid any splattering (learn from my experience)!
Add the pork belly when the sugar turns a light amber! The sugar will continue to caramelize and darken in color as the pork belly cooks, so it's important to add in the pork belly as soon as the sugar caramelizes.
Cover the pork belly when cooking - this will ensure the pork belly cooks through, becomes tender, and melts down any remaining seized caramelized sugar.

Nutrition