Vietnamese Caramelized And Braised Pork Belly With Eggs Thit Kho Tau Food

THIT KHO - VIETNAMESE CARAMELIZED & BRAISED PORK WITH EGGS

Steps:

• Boil eggs and remove the shell. Set aside.
• Cut the pork into small chunks at 1.5" cubes so that they consistently cook.
• Clean and rinse the pork under running water to remove impurities. Drain and rinse until the water is clear.
• Place the pork in the pot. Add the shallots, Coco caramel syrup, brown sugar, MSG (optional), salt, and fish sauce. Use your hands to ensure everything gets mixed together.
• Add the water enough to submerge the pork. Add in the coconut soda. Turn the heat to high.
• Once it starts to boil, turn down the heat to medium so that it the pork is simmering. Simmer uncovered for 90 minutes. Check and stir the pot every 20 minutes.
• In the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the hard boiled eggs.
• Garnish with chopped green onions.
• Serve with jasmine rice.

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 CARAMELIZED AND BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH EGGS (THIT KHO TAU)

Steps:

• Clean the pork. Generously coat pork with salt (about 1 tablespoon) and give it an abrasive scrubbing. Rinse pork under cold water. Slice pork into 2x2 inch cubes and place in a small stockpot. Add water to cover and heat on medium-high until water begins boiling. Once it starts boiling, immediately turn off the heat and transfer pork to a colander to rinse and drain dry.
• Transfer parboiled pork to a large bowl and marinate with fish sauce, bouillon powder, sugar, garlic, shallot, and thick soy sauce/caramel cooking sauce for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
• To the bottom of a small pot, add vegetable oil and heat on medium-high. Add garlic and shallot. Saute until fragrant and lightly brown. Add marinated pork and all its liquid. Toss gently with aromatics.
• Add eggs, water, coconut soda. Simmer on low without lid for 1-1/2 hours or until nicely tender. Serve with rice.

VIETNAMESE CARAMELIZED PORK BELLY (THIT KHO TAU)

Steps:

• Slice pork belly into 1-inch thick (or slightly thicker) pieces. In a bowl, toss the pork with crushed garlic, shallots, salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature for 10-20 minutes.
• In a small saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil, the sugar will fully dissolve. Lower the heat to medium, continue to simmer. You will see a lot of bubbles on the surface. The mixture will then turn from clear to yellow, and get darker as you simmer it. When it has a honey color, reduce the heat slightly. Keep watching closely, until it has a dark caramel color, turn off the heat and carefully add 1 tablespoon of water. Swirl the saucepan (or stir) to combine and remove it from the stove. Set aside.
• Place a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add a small amount of cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, add the pork belly, along with all the crushed garlic and shallots, and the caramel sauce. Stir and cook to coat the pork with the caramel sauce and then add fish sauce. Continue to stir and cook.
• Once the outside of the pork is no longer pink, add coconut juice enough to cover the meat. Bring it to a boil and skim off all the foams, then lower to a simmer.
• Cover the pot with the lid slightly askew and simmer until the pork is almost tender to your liking (about 75-80 minutes). You can give everything a stir once in a while for even cooking if you want.
• While braising the pork belly, boil the eggs so that they are just about to reach hard-boiled. Place the eggs in cold water to cool down, and then peel them.
• Once the pork is almost tender, add the eggs (make sure they are surrounded with the braising liquid). Cover and simmer for about 10 more minutes.
• Transfer the caramelized pork belly and eggs along with the sauce to a shallow serving plate. Serve hot with white rice.

CARAMELIZED PORK BELLY (THIT KHO)

Steps:

• Slice pork belly into 1-inch pieces layered with skin, fat, and meat.
• Heat sugar in a large wok or pot over medium heat until it melts and caramelizes into a light brown syrup, about 5 minutes. Add pork and increase heat to high. Cook and stir to render some of the pork fat, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir shallots and garlic into the wok. Add fish sauce and black pepper; stir to evenly coat pork. Pour in coconut water and bring to a boil. Add eggs, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until pork is tender, about 1 hour.
• Remove wok from the heat and let stand, about 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface of the dish.

VIETNAMESE BRAISED PORK BELLY & EGGS

Steps:

• Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, but leave the eggs in the pot for another 5 minutes. Place the eggs in a cold water to cool them down. Peel the eggs and use a tooth pick to poke a few holes all around each egg.
• Next, rinse off your cut of pork and pat it dry with a paper towel. Cut the pork into approximately one and a half inch squares. Sprinkle with some salt and black pepper.
• Add 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of sugar to the dry pot and cook on high heat, stirring frequently until the sugar melts into a light brown liquid.
• Quickly, stir in all the meat so the caramel doesn't burn on the bottom.
• When all the pieces of the meat turn light brown, pour in the full can of coconut soda and two cups of water. Sprinkle in a teaspoon of salt, a quarter teaspoon of black pepper and one tablespoon sugar. Cover the pot.
• As soon as the pot begins boiling, uncover it and skim away all the white foam off the surface. Add in the eggs and cover the pot once more. Bring the heat back down to low and let the dish simmer for about an hour, hour and a half - or until the water reduces almost to the bottom of the pot. This step largely depends on personal preference. If you like thicker sauce, allow it to cook for longer. Just know that leaner cuts of meat can dry out a little if you do. If you like a thinner, wetter sauce, take it off the heat sooner.
• As always, season to taste as you go!

CARAMELIZED PORK BELLY- THIT KHO TAU

Steps:

• Bring 2-3 quarts of water boiling on high, enough to fully submerge the pork. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt and the pork to water for 2-3 minutes just to clean it. Drain then rinse the pork under running water until the water is clear.
• Heat sugar in a large wok or pot over medium heat, continuously stirring until it melts and caramelizes into a light brown syrup. Burns easily so keep a close eye and be careful to not let it get candied.
• As soon as sugar reaches the nice amber color, immediately add pork and increase heat to high. Cook and stir to render some of the pork fat, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add fish sauce, soy sauce, salt, and black pepper; stir to evenly coat pork and allow it to get the color on the meat.
• Stir shallots and garlic into the wok.
• Pour in coconut water and bring to a boil. Liquid should just cover the pork.
• Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until pork is tender, about 1 hour. Slowly stir and check about every 20 minutes while the pork is simmering to make sure that the liquid doesn't evaporate too much. Add water a little at a time if sauce seems to be drying out.
• Remove cover, add hard-boiled eggs. Continue simmering for about 30-40 minutes with the lid off to allow the liquid to reduce into a nice concentrated sauce, stirring occasionally to prevent meat from drying.
• Remove from the heat and let stand, about 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface of the dish.
• Top with green onions for garnish.

VIETNAMESE CARAMELIZED SALTY PORK ( THIT KHO)

Steps:

• Wash and cut pork belly into 3/4 inch (cubed)pieces.
• In a dry saucepan, melt sugar on high heat until it becomes golden brown but not candied.
• Immediately, add pork belly pieces, onions, pepper, and garlic. Stir to get a golden color on the meat.
• Add fish sauce and water, deglaze, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes (stirring occasionally) until sauce thickens a little. Add a little more fish sauce and black pepper to taste.
• Serve over white rice.
• Note: Some vietnamese add whole hard boiled eggs (better if you fry the hard boiled eggs in a little oil until golden brown skin) along with the liquids. Adding shrimp is also delicious.

VIETNAMESE CARAMELIZED PORK (THIT KO) - INSTANT POT VERSION

Steps:

• Place eggs into the instant pot on a wire rack. Pour in 1 cup of water and set on high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release and put the eggs in an ice bath. Peel and set aside.
• Combine the pork with garlic, shallot, salt, black pepper, msg, soy sauce in a large bowl. Let this marinate while you make the caramel sauce. You can also do this step ahead of time and just let it sit overnight in the fridge.
• Set the pot to Saute mode on high. Add in the marinated pork and saute for 5-7 minutes until the garlic and shallots are soft and the pork has some color. Deglaze with 1 cup of water making sure to scrape up all the bits. Turn off the pot.
• Time to make the caramel sauce! In a separate small frying pan, caramelize the sugar until it reaches a dark golden brown. Careful not to burn it. Watch it carefully! Slowly pour in ¼ cup of water and stir to make a sauce. Add to the instant pot. (You can also caramelize the sugar while your meat browns.).
• Add the hard boiled eggs, coconut soda, star anise pods and (if needed) just enough water to cover the pork. It should not take more than 2 cups. Cook it on high pressure for 30 minutes and NPR for 15 minutes.*.
• Add the fish sauce and salt to taste (if needed). Serve with rice and pickled vegetables!
• *OPTIONAL - Once you remove the lid, set it to Saute mode on high for 15 minutes to reduce the liquid by 1/3. You don't have to worry too much with the instant pot overboiling or over reducing because it will maintain the heat level and switch to "keep warm" when the timer shuts off.