Recipe: Vietnamese caramelised pork bowls

Turn simple ingredients into a flavour bomb with this Vietnamese street food favourite. Photo / Fresh Media

Try some traditional Vietnamese street food at home.

This caramelised pork stir-fry is quick and easy to make. It’s budget-friendly, and the savoury-sweet taste is amazing.

Vietnamese caramelised pork bowls

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g pork mince

2 Tbsp cooking oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 Tbsp ginger, grated

3 Tbsp brown sugar

2 Tbsp fish sauce

To serve

4 portions steamed jasmine rice

2 spring onions, sliced

1 red chilli, sliced

4 tomatoes, sliced

½ cucumber, sliced

¼ cup peanuts, lightly toasted and crushed

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Fry the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli for 2 minutes.
2. Add the pork mince and fry, breaking it up with a spoon, until all the meat changes colour.
3. Sprinkle the sugar and fish sauce over the pork. Stir a few times, then leave to cook without stirring for a couple of minutes until most of the juices evaporate and the mince starts to caramelise.
4. Stir and leave to cook again for another couple of minutes. Repeat the process a few times until the pork is a rich brown colour and caramelised all over.
5. Serve on steamed jasmine rice topped with spring onions, chilli and peanuts.

Afterword

Serve with some sliced tomatoes and cucumber on the side, just like the street vendors do.

– fresh.co.nz