Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly Eggs Recipes

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!

THIT KHO (VIETNAMESE BRAISED PORK BELLY WITH EGGS)

Steps:

• First prepare all your ingredients. Cut the pork belly into chunks that are no thicker than 1 inch. These pieces don't have to be uniform or perfect. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add in the pork belly chunks. Boil for 2 minutes to clean the pork belly. Take out and set aside.
• Next boil your eggs. Add 4 eggs to a pan and cover with water so that there is 1 inch of water above the eggs. Bring the water to a boil and turn off the heat. Let sit for 8 minutes and immediately submerge the eggs into ice water. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the shells and set aside.
• Now it's time to braised your pork belly! Add shallots, garlic, and some oil to a medium pot. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the shallots and garlic are shiny.
• Add in the brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and coconut water. Stir and bring to a boil.
• Add your pork belly back in and lower the heat to a simmer. If the liquid doesn't fully cover the pork belly, add more coconut water until it just covers the meat. Simmer with the pan slightly uncovered for 30 minutes.
• After simmering for 30 minutes, add in your hard boiled eggs. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes with the pan slightly uncovered. If the liquid does not completely cover the eggs, turn the eggs over after 15 minutes.
• Garnish the dish with green onions before serving.

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)

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.

THIT HEO KHO TRUNG (PORK AND EGGS IN CARAMEL SAUCE)

Steps:

• Make the caramel sauce: In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the 1/4 cup sugar, vinegar and 1 tablespoon water until the sugar nearly dissolves, 60 to 90 seconds. Cook without stirring until the mixture turns champagne yellow, about 3 minutes, then continue cooking for another 1 to 2 minutes, frequently picking up the pan and swirling it to control the caramelization. When the mixture is a dark tea color (expect faint smoking), turn off the heat and keep the pan on the burner. Let the caramelization continue until the mixture is burgundy in color, 1 to 2 minutes. Slide the pan to a cool burner and add 3 tablespoons water, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Warm over medium heat to loosen, if needed.
• Cut the pork into chunks about 1-inch thick and 2 to 3 inches long, making sure each piece has both lean meat and fat. Warm the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working in 2 or 3 batches, cook the pork on all sides until lightly browned, about 1 minute per batch, holding the seared meat on a plate. When done, return all the pork and any accumulated juices to the pot, then add the caramel sauce, fish sauce, onion, garlic, peppercorns and coconut water. Bring to a boil over high heat, skim the scum, then adjust the heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until a knife tip inserted 1/4 inch into the pork meets little resistance, about 1 1/4 hours.
• Use tongs to retrieve the pork and hold in a bowl, loosely covered to prevent drying. If peppercorns cling to the pork, leave them for zing, or knock them off and discard. To quickly filter and remove fat from the cooking liquid, set a mesh strainer over a large heatproof bowl, line with a double layer of paper towels and pour the liquid through. After most of the liquid passes through and a layer of fat remains above the solids, set the strainer aside. (Save the fat for cooking if you like.) You should have about 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.
• Return the liquid to the pot, bring to a boil over high heat and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer, then add the pork and eggs. Cook, gently stirring now and then, to heat through and coat with the dark sauce, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest 5 minutes, uncovered, to concentrate flavors. Taste and add up to 1 1/2 teaspoons of fish sauce or 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, or both, as needed for a pleasant savory-sweet finish. Transfer to a shallow bowl for serving. Invite diners to halve the eggs themselves. If you'd like spicy heat, gently smash the chiles in individual dishes for dipping sauce with some sauce from the pot, and use it to dip the pork and egg or to drizzle into the bowls.