This Vietnamese Pork recipe is an epic Vietnamese food speciality that’s easy to recreate in your own home. Slow cooked tender pork pieces in a sticky savoury-sweet glaze, Vietnamese Caramel Pork is a magical way to transform pork shoulder into something exotic and spectacular. And it’s SO easy!
Complete your Vietnamese banquet with fresh Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls to start and a side of fluffy coconut rice. And don’t miss the chicken version – Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken!
Vietnamese Caramel Pork recipe
Vietnamese Caramel Pork is one of those gems that seem exotic, yet is unbelievably simple AND you can get everything you need at your local supermarket. The pork is braised until tender, and looks completely unimpressive until the last 5 minutes when it magically caramelises and turns into something that you’d pay serious $ for at a posh Asian restaurant.
It’s sweet yet savoury, and the pork is fork tender. It’s called Thit Kho To in Vietnamese, and it’s traditionally made with pork belly. Personally, I prefer making it with pork shoulder (butt) because I find pork belly too fatty.
I just realised – I call this “fork tender”, but I guess it’s more appropriate to say “chopstick tender”… 😂
The secret ingredient – coconut WATER
There is one ingredient in Vietnamese Caramel Pork that you may not have in your pantry but is sold in all major supermarkets nowadays – coconut water. If you’re into healthy smoothies, you may well have some stashed away!!!
It’s not expensive, $2 – $3 depending on where you get it (Asian grocer stores are cheaper), and it’s essentially the “secret ingredient” for this recipe.
It doesn’t really taste like coconut, it’s sort of salty and sweet. Which makes it ideal to use as the broth for this recipe.
Substitute for coconut water?
Make it with coconut milk! I’ve tried it, and it’s great. A little saucier, a little sweeter, with a slight coconut flavour and smell that you don’t get in the traditional recipe. See the Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken recipe which is made with coconut milk.
How to make this Vietnamese Pork
I promised you this is simple – and it really is, which you’ll see in the video. It goes down like this:
Put brown sugar and water in a pot, bring to simmer to make a caramel;
Add pork, fish sauce*, garlic and eschallots**
Simmer for 1.5 hours until the pork is tender. Then magically, the pot of pale brown meat pieces in a murky liquid suddenly transforms into bronzed pieces of delectable, ultra tender pork that just melts in your mouth.
* NO it will not taste fishy! It’s the Vietnamese version of soy sauce!
** French shallots, shallots, depending on where you live. The baby onions. 🙂
How to serve Vietnamese Caramel Pork
Because the glaze has quite a strong flavour, I like to serve this with plain white rice. Steamed jasmine rice would be on point.
And for a fresh side, a crunchy Asian Slaw would be very fitting – and the fresh flavour will be great to balance the richness of the pork. Or toss steamed vegetables or a garden salad with this Asian Sesame Dressing or the Nuoc Cham in this Lemongrass chicken recipe.
“This Vietnamese pork recipe is a Vietnamese food speciality. One bite, and you’ll understand why!”
I love recipes like this. Forgiving, tastes exotic, kapow! flavours. It sounds and looks exotic, but the flavours are universally appealing.
Asian Food Lovers – this is for YOU! It’s an absolute ripper that I think you’ll love! – Nagi x
Get your Vietnamese fix!
Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken – the chicken version of this recipe
Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!
Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls – the super quick version of the above
Browse all Vietnamese recipes
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Vietnamese Caramel Pork recipe video!
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Vietnamese Caramel Pork
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup / 100g brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 kg / 2 lb pork shoulder (butt) or boneless skinless pork belly, cut into 3 cm / 1.2″ pieces (Note 1a)
- 1.5 cups / 375 ml coconut water (Note 1b)
- 1 eschallot / shallot , very finely sliced (Note 2)
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Garnishes:
- Red chilli and finely sliced shallots/green onions
Instructions
- Place sugar and water in a large pot over medium heat. Stir, then when it bubbles and the sugar is melted (it looks like caramel), add the rest of the ingredients.
- Stir, then adjust the heat so it is simmering fairly energetically. Not rapidly, not a slow simmer (I use medium heat on a weak stove, between medium and low on a strong stove).
- Simmer for 1.5 hours, uncovered. Stir once or twice while cooking.
- At around 1.5 hours, when the liquid has reduced down and the pork is tender, (see Note 3 if pork is not yet tender), the fat will separate (see video).
- Stir and the pork will brown and caramelise in the fat.
- Once the liquid is all gone and it’s now stuck on the pork pieces, it’s ready.
- Serve over rice, garnished with fresh chilli and shallots. Simple pickled vegetables are ideal for a side because the fresh acidity pairs well with the rich pork.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
DON’T MISS…..
The chicken version made with coconut milk – Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken!
LIFE OF DOZER
Still his favourite toy. I swear, I can feel the attitude reverberating off him every time I see him bounding around in the backyard with this toy.
Made this for the 3rd time since seeing it in a GIF on Reddit. It is absolutely phenomenal. The closest thing to a restaurant quality dish I have ever made. Paired it with coconut rice and it was fantastic. Enjoyed by all. Now I need to figure out how to make it the night before so I can bring it to potlucks. Any suggestions on how to keep it delicious for the next day?
Hi Gary! So glad you enjoy this as much as I do! It’s such a juicy cut of pork, you should be able to just reheat it in the microwave. Make sure you scrape all the residual fat in the pot into the container because that’s what will keep it nice and glazed on the surface 🙂
Fixed this last night & it was awesome! We all loved it – thanks so much!
WHOOT WHOOT!!! 🙌🏻
Hi Nagi! I made this last night exactly per the instructions and it was DELICIOUS! Sticky, savory and SO yummy. I wish it had more of a “sauce” to go with it. If I doubled the ingredients but kept the pork portion the same, do you think that would work?
Hi Erin! For this recipe it can’t really be “saucy” 🙂 However, did you see the chicken version linked in the recipe? It is made with coconut MILK instead of water so it can be a bit saucier 🙂 N x
Hi! I made this once and it was a hit!! I will be doing this again for Thanksgiving! If I double the pork this time, how much coconut water should I add? How much more cooking time is needed? Thank you!!
Hi Melissa! Scale the recipe by using the slider by hovering over servings 🙂 Then it will tell you how much coconut water to add. Boil rapidly to reduce the liquid faster and try to cook for the same time because if you cook for longer, the pork will start falling apart. If the pork gets too soft before the liquid reduces, remove it using a slotted spoon. Let the liquid reduce right down then put the pork back in right at the end just to brown it 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi
I’ll be giving classes at a new informal cooking workshop here in the UK in the spring (very exciting!). I wanted to include your amazing Vietnamese Caramel Pork as everyone always loves it, but I noticed the other day that it doesn’t survive unless it’s eaten immediately. It goes a bit hard and chewy after a few hours, instead of retaining its gorgeous soft stickiness.
Could you recommend another Vietnamese (or Korean) pork or chicken dish that would last without too much loss of quality until students got home?
Hoping you can help! 😀
Sally
I can’t believe something this easy to make tastes so good! The only thing I didn’t enjoy too much was cutting up the pork. I’ll ask my husband to do that next time! 🙂
Ba ha ha!!! Yes, delegate it! 😂
OMG Nagi! I thought I’d made a mistake. I’m in Oz and bought a ‘small’ pork shoulder, thinking I’d double the recipe. By the time I cut through the fat and got to the meat, I think I only had about 1.5kg of meat, but doubled the sugar anyway. Horrified initially, then made another fatal mistake by mistaking the sesame oil for fish sauce! Luckily, I managed to scoop out the sesame oil, but the double portion of sugar was already in the pot. It came out delicious anyway! Love this recipe. Will do it again. And fail proof!
That’s terrific to hear Eileen! So glad you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
Hi Nagi, i’ll have a party 2 days from now, can i prepare it in advance and put it on a fridge?
Yep, it reheats great in the microwave!
Navi, can I use pork scotch filet for this recipie.
Yep as long as it’s fatty 🙂 N x
I used this for stuffing steamed Chinese buns with lettuce and red pickled onions . Very delicious. Thanks.
YUM!!!! STEAMED BUNS!!!
Nagi this is so yum. Made 3 Times now addicted. Just saw a show on Food.tv (USA). Guy made chicken wings very similar to your recipes. However no recipe. :-(…would love to see a Nagi take on fish sauce/caramel chicken wings. 😍
Oooh…. the mind boggles at the possibilities……
OMG, this was delicious. I have one happy husband tonight!
I simmer it reasonably hard over gas for 90 minutes and it was perfectly tender. One of the easiest & tastiest meals I’ve cooked. Thank you Nagi!
WHOOT! So pleased to hear that Emma, thanks for letting me know! N x
Hi Nagi, great tasty recipe. Reminds me of my trips to Vietnam. This will be another regular I will add to my menus. I had to add approx 2 extra cups of water until my pork was tender and cook time was close to 2 hrs. Well worth the extra cook time. Thanks for bringing so many great recipes to my home.
That’s great to hear Lisa!! Thanks for letting me know! N x
I live in a tiny town in Panama and I looked all over…there is no fish sauce. Would plain soy work?
Second question…we have fresh coco water…is that the same as sold in stores?
I love your recipes….they are a great mix for a north american and a Panamanian…not too spicy but full of flavor. I just found you after your chicken and rice no stove recipe, so maybe I need to search more….but I would love to see some seafood treats!! Thank you.
The fresh coconut water should be fine! As for fish sauce, yes sub with soy but can you please add 1 tsp of finely chopped anchovies. Add it in with the soy sauce. It will dissolve and essentially when combined with soy sauce, it tastes pretty much like fish sauce. It will NOT taste fishy at the end, not even the slightest hint of fishiness, it just adds great depth to the flavour! 🙂
Could I substitute beef of som kind?
Yep! Please see recipe notes 🙂
Thank you. Love your recipes.
Do you think this could work in a slow cooker? Looks delicious!
Sorry, needs to be stove to let liquid evaporate 🙂
Thank you, Nagi! I made this today following recipe almost to a T (only change was I ran out of fish sauce and only had one tbs) and it was delicious. My only regret was not making more! 🤣
That’s great to hear Keri, thanks for sharing your feedback! N x ❤️
Love this going to try with 🐔
Did you see the chicken recipe?? 🙂
Can I use boneless pork chops cut up w the fat?
Hi Shannon, I’m not sure it will be juicy enough, the think with shoulder and belly is that there is fat running through the pieces. Chops doesn’t have that. It will definitely work and the meat will be tender, but inside some of the pieces it may not be as juicy as it should be 🙂 N x
Sorry – definitely gets the 5 star!
Hi Nagi
Another winner for this family! Delish and definitely needed the pickled veg or,it would have been to sweet and dry. What a flavour in the pork – just divine. It does remind me of our trip to Vietnam 😀 Will be a much used recipe. Thanks again!
WHOOT! So pleased to hear that Marianne! N x