Sweet & Savory Vietnamese Pork (Printable Version)
# What You'll Need:
01 -
1 pound ground pork
02 -
3 tablespoons mild cooking oil (canola, veggie, or peanut), split up
03 -
2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
04 -
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
05 -
1 large spicy red pepper (Jalapeno or Serrano), seeds removed and chopped small
06 -
½ cup thinly cut shallots (not packed tight)
07 -
2 tablespoons brown sugar (more or less to taste)
08 -
2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
09 -
Grated peel from 1 lime
10 -
⅛ lime, squeezed fresh (add more if you want)
11 -
3 scallions, green and white parts cut thin
12 -
Salt, as needed
13 -
Black pepper, as needed
# Steps to Follow:
01 -
Warm up 1½ tablespoons oil in a big pan on high. Put ground pork in and let it sit for 1 minute. Sprinkle a bit of salt and black pepper, then keep cooking about 4 minutes, stirring now and then until it gets nice and brown.
02 -
Scoop the browned meat into a strainer to let the extra grease and liquid run off. Put it aside for now.
03 -
Pour the other 1½ tablespoons oil into the same pan on high heat. Toss in shallots and cook them for a minute. Add the ginger and hot pepper, let that cook another minute. Mix in garlic and stir non-stop for 15 seconds.
04 -
Put the drained pork back in the pan and mix everything together. Pour in the fish sauce and brown sugar, stirring it all up well. Let it cook without touching it for a minute so it gets sticky sweet. Stir once, then leave it again for another minute, gently scraping any stuck bits off the bottom. Add more salt and pepper if you need to.
05 -
Throw in the scallions, lime zest, and lime juice. Give it a quick stir for a few seconds and turn the heat off right away. You can eat this sweet pork over white rice or wrapped in lettuce leaves with extra lime juice if you like.
# Additional Tips:
01 -
Don't skip browning the meat at the start or you'll miss out on flavor.
02 -
Add more or less brown sugar depending on how sweet you want it.
03 -
Swap the hot chili for red bell pepper if you can't handle spicy food.