Vietnamese caramel pork rice bowls
Ground pork cooked in a quick dark caramel and fish sauce until sticky, sweet and salty, spooned over rice with crisp cucumber and scallions.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 13 min
- Serves
- 2
- Per serve
- 1040 kcal
Ingredients
Method
Chop the shallot and garlic, slice the cucumbers, scallions and chile, and stir the fish sauce with 3 tbsp water in a small cup.
Put the sugar and 1 tbsp water in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook without stirring, just swirling the pan, until it turns a deep amber, like strong tea.
Take the pan off the heat and carefully pour in the fish sauce mixture; it will hiss and steam, so stand back. Stir until the caramel dissolves, return to medium heat and add the oil, shallot and garlic. Cook for 1 minute.
Turn the heat to medium-high, add the pork and break it up. Cook, stirring often, until no pink remains and the sauce has reduced to a sticky dark glaze coating the pork. Stir in the pepper.
Meanwhile, heat the rice in the microwave according to the package. Spoon the pork over the rice and top with cucumber, scallions and chile.
Tips
- Take the caramel to a properly dark amber for a bittersweet depth. Too pale and the dish just tastes sweet; if it smells burnt or goes black, start again.
- Hard bits of caramel that seize when the fish sauce goes in will melt back as it heats, so keep stirring.
- Leftovers reheat well; add a splash of water to loosen the glaze.
