Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls

Ingredients

• 1.5 tbsp cooking oil (peanut oil recommended)
• 0.5 onion (finely diced (brown, white or yellow); approx. 1/2 cup)
• 2 tsp ginger (grated or minced)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced (or 2 tsp paste))
• 1 birds eye or Thai chili (deseeded and finely chopped; can omit for less heat)
• 500 g pork mince (ground pork; can also use chicken or turkey)
• 5 tbsp brown sugar (tightly packed; essential for caramelization)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 green onion stem (finely sliced)
• Jasmine rice (for serving)
• Sliced red chilli, tomato, cucumber (optional garnishes)

Steps

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.

2. 2

   Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chili to the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the pork mince and cook for about 2 minutes until white all over, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon.

4. 4

   Add the brown sugar and fish sauce. Stir to combine.

5. 5

   Leave the mixture to cook without touching until all the juices cook out and the pork starts to caramelise, which should take about 2 minutes.

6. 6

   Stir the meat and leave it again, without stirring, for around 30 seconds to get more caramelisation. Repeat this process twice more until the pork is caramelised to your taste.

7. 7

   Serve the pork over jasmine rice or vermicelli noodles, garnished with sliced green onion. Optional sides include chunks of plain cucumber and carrots.

Notes

If you reduce the sugar, the pork will not caramelise as well and it will take longer to get color on it. For a low carb option, serve with cauliflower rice. If you have lemongrass paste, you can add it along with the brown sugar for extra flavor.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• stir-fry
• pork
• quick
• weeknight-dinner
• Vietnamese
• dairy-free