Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly (Thit Kho)

Growing up, this has been the most popular dish at home. It’s both an everyday dish and a traditional Têt (Lunar New Year) dish as it can be prepared ahead of time, and the fatty pork symbolizes Wealth.

There are as many ways to prepare Thit Kho as there are cooks in Vietnam.  This is my family recipe, it’s simpler than most as, at home, we do not add any garlic, shallots or onions. I can say that it tastes as good as any recipe out there, having enjoyed many types of thit kho in restaurants or at people’s homes.

To prepare Thit Kho, my family uses a mix of pork belly and shoulder meat or a cut of pork belly that has skin, not too much fat, and more meaty part. To achieve the umami taste, it’s important to have a combination of fatty pork with skin and leaner meat. The braised meat is then combined with boiled eggs. In Vietnam, it’s common to use boiled duck eggs but at home we simply use chicken eggs.  Thit kho is served with steamed Jasmine rice and a side of pickled crunchy bean sprouts salad (Dua Gia) to balance the richness of the dish. It could also be served with pickled mustard green

In the Vietnamese kitchen, we always have a supply of home made caramel sauce as it’s used in many dishes, and you can find the recipe in this post. But as a short cut, you could also use thick soy sauce and sugar.

In Vietnam, to prepare Thit Kho, we use fresh coconut juice (not to mix up with coconut milk).  In the US, it’s now easy to find canned or boxed coconut water, or you could also use canned coconut soda. The brand that I use is called COCO RICO, and it’s widely available at any Asian market. Thanks to the caramel, coconut juice and fish sauce, the braising liquid is sweet, salty and rich tasting.

The key for success is to slow cook this dish for a long time, at least for 2 hours over low heat, so the meat becomes really tender, and the color deepens. I make it with my instant pot (pressure cook on high for 33 minutes) so it’s a breeze and I don’t need to stand by to stir every 15 minutes and make sure it wouldn’t burn.  But no matter if you plan to slow cook it or use an instant pot, there’s a first step not to skip. The cut pork should first be put in a pot with enough water to cover the meat, and heated until the water boils. Immediately turn off the heat and discard the water, and rinse the pork meat of any grime/impurity. You may wonder why I use a regular pot to boil the pork and then the instant pot to cook it. It’s faster to use a regular pot to boil the pork and, in any case, after the boiling water is discarded and the pork meat is rinsed, the pot needs to be cleaned before you use it for slow-cooking (or in my case, before using the instant pot for cooking), so there’s no extra washing involved.

If possible, you should prepare this dish a day before you plan to serve it as it would taste even better the next day. But the main reason is to be able to skim the fat that rises to the top when the dish has cooled down, for a healthier option.

When I make this dish, I always cook a larger portion in order to have left-over. So for 4 servings, instead of 2 lb of meat, I would use 3 lb. I also recommend using 10 eggs instead of 8, as in my family we fight for the extra eggs. Did I mention that this dish tastes better the next day, and even better the following day? But that’s not the main reason why I want left overs. You can use any left-over meat to make another delicious dish, which is my sons’ favorite dish even now. Heat a non-stick sauce pan, add the left over meat with 2 tablespoons of braising liquid, slow cook over medium low heat, break down the meat with a wooden spatula so it becomes like pulled pork. Let the bottom layer slowly caramelize when the liquid is absorbed by the meat, before stirring and flipping the meat to the other side. Add 1/2 cup of chopped green onions and a tablespoon of sliced red chili. Cook a little longer so the green onion and chili and the meat are caramelized, and slightly charred. Serve immediately with rice or bread. It’s such a simple dish but it’s like a flavor bomb (You’re welcome…)

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