Vietnamese Braised Pork In Coconut Food

THIT KHO (VIETNAMESE BRAISED PORK BELLY AND EGGS IN COCONUT WATER)

Steps:

• Boil the eggs for 12 minutes or until hardboiled, then peel them and set aside in a bowl.
• Cut the meat into 5cm or 2" chunks.Note: If you like the pieces in Thit Kho smaller, cut them to your liking.
• Extract the juice from the coconuts. If you're using fresh coconuts, lay them on their side and chop the cleaver down about 3cm (or 1″) from the coconut's point. Rotate the coconut and repeat until the whole tip is removable.Pull the top off and pour the juice into a bowl and repeat for all the coconuts.
• On a high heat, add the sugar and stir continuously until it begins clumping together.
• Pour in a tablespoon of water and stir until combined. Repeat this step a tablespoon at a time with the remaining water. By the end, you will have a dark brown caramel sauce.
• Add the fish sauce in and stir until well combined.
• While the heat is still on high, put the eggs in and roll them through the sauce until they're evenly coated and have turned a slight golden color.Scoop the eggs out and set them aside in a bowl.
• Add the pork belly into the sauce and brown them on all sides.
• Pour the coconut water in and season with chicken bouillon powder. Stir well then bring to a boil with the lid partially on. As soon as it boils, turn the heat to medium and let it gently simmer for 20 minutes.
• After 20 minutes of simmering, put the eggs back into the pot.
• Simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes or until the pork is tender.
• Serve immediately with steaming hot rice!

VIETNAMESE BRAISED PORK IN COCONUT

Steps:

• In a clay pot or large saucepan, stir together the sugar and water.
• Over low heat, cook until it's a golden color, 5 to 10 minutes; watch closely, since as soon as the color begins to change, the sugar mixture can darken very quickly and burn.
• Remove from heat.
• Carefully stir in the coconut juice and fish sauce-- there may be a little spattering.
• Return to very low heat and stir until well blended, scraping up any caramelized pieces stuck to bottom of pan.
• Stir in the pork.
• Then stir in the shallots, ginger and five-spice powder.
• Simmer, partially covered, until pork is very tender, about 2 hours, stirring from time to time and checking to make sure liquid is not simmering too hard.
• When done, stir in the pepper.
• To serve, bring the clay pot to the table and serve from that, or spoon the stew into bowls.
• Garnish with the wedges of hard-cooked egg.
• Note: Do not substitute coconut milk.

BRAISED PORK SHANK IN COCONUT JUICE

Steps:

• Gently place the eggs in a pot and just cover with water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook until soft-boiled, about 5 minutes (about 2 minutes for quail eggs.) Rinse under cold water and allow to cool completely. Carefully shell the eggs intact. Make a caramel by combining the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. When the sugar is melted and turns a rich gold, about 8 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut juice and fish sauce (or 3 cups water and the soy sauce.) Reduce the heat to low and stir until the sauce is completely smooth. Add the pork shanks, turning them to coat evenly on all sides. Add the scallions, ginger, garlic, chilies, star anise, and five-spice powder, and simmer, covered, turning shanks occasionally, until the meat is fork tender, about 4 hours. With a ladle, skim off the fat and add the eggs. Continue simmering, ladling sauce over the eggs occasionally, until the eggs turn golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes.