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:
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Put brown sugar and water in a pot, bring to simmer to make a caramel;
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Add pork, fish sauce*, garlic and eschallots**
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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!
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Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken – the chicken version of this recipe
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Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!
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Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls – the super quick version of the above
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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.
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Chloe says
OMG. Amazing – each time I think you can’t out for the last recipe and boom, I’m blown away again. This is so delicious. Thank you!
Chloe says
*out do
Erika says
Made it and loved it! We served it with cilantro and butter lettuce (and rice obviously). So good!
Leah says
Nagi I am having buyers remorse. Went to get the pork shoulder for this recipe and the butcher convinced me the pork tenderloin would be better for it and I listened :(. I’m having people over tomorrow and was going to make this recipe and am now stressing. Is it going to turn out bad now because of the cut of meat Ive bought?
Nagi says
Hi Leah – you might need a new butcher! He’s sold you that because it’s more expensive. If you see my note 1B you’ll see that you can’t use tenderloin for this – it’s a slow cooked dish and needs shoulder or neck. I would take it back to him and tell him you want to exchange it! N x
Leah says
Thank you. Ended up freezing the tenderloin and buying the pork shoulder and it was delicious. Made the massaman lamb shanks to go a long with and they were perfect as well.
Making you bacon wrapped pork tenderloin tonight!
Celia says
So good, and simple. I was a bit worried at first as the smell was so strong. But toward the last 30 mins you can smell how delicious it tasted. This recipe was a hit with all my 3 little ones and my husband who is not really a fan of pork. Will make again.
Celia says
Sorry forgot to add 5 stars! Thanks Nga!
Melissa Sadowsky says
I made this with 3 other of your recipes for guests. Coconut rice, Asian Slaw and Garlic spinach. Everything was amazing! I doubled the recipe and found that the coconut water was too much. After 90 minutes of cooking I removed about 1+ cup of liquid, kept cooking and then it caramelized beautifully. I love your recipes and you have been my go-to site for the last several months.
Rob says
Great recipe. The family loved it.
With a bigger serving (9 persons) the coconut waters adds up a bit too much). –> reduce to 90% (max 800 ml instead of 885). Cheers
Lynda says
Just made this tonight after being out all day , so easy and relaxed way of cooking. Put everything in the pot sit back and relax . We had ours with Asia salad OMG!!! The pork was so tender and flavour was amazing . You are right it goes from something that does not look appetising to a very delicious meal. You are a gem thank you .
susan holroyd says
Doubled the recipe to have leftovers….came out perfect.
Great flavor. Will definitely make this again
Bonnie Johnson says
Hi Nagi. I have followed you forever and love your recipes and your spirit. I love that your recipes are being included in in Good Food.
When using pork belly for this recipe, how do you finish the fat side of the pork belly?
Nagi says
Hi Bonnie – if you are using cubed pork belly it should be finished on all sides once you have reduced it down at the end. N x
Niki says
Oh my goodness. Where do l start! This was amazing! Served it with plain rice and Nagi’s Asian slaw as per her suggestions. Super easy to make but be warned, it smells so UNBELIEVABLY GOOD that for the last hour, my nose kept trying to convince my brain that l was STARVING and would absolutely DIE from hunger if l didn’t throw away the uncooked pork and just drink the broth. So glad l managed to make it to the end as it was well worth it.
Mari says
Hi there – love the recipe. How can I make this ahead?! I’d like to freeze and serve around the holidays. Thank you!
Marlene Whyment says
Hi Nagi, just come across your website, which will now be my go to website for recipes. I’ve made the caramalised pork,and used pork belly. You didn’t specify whether to leave the skin on. So I removed it and made pork scratchings, but I think that didn’t leave enough fat in to do the pork full justice. Would you leave the skin on?
Just made your chocolate cake for a friends birthday cake; a big hit with all who ate it. Thanks
Nagi says
Hi Marlene – in the ingredients list it specifies boneless skinless pork belly. You do need to leave the fat layer on there if you skin the pork yourself. N x
Diane Hobden says
Hi Nagi & Dozer
I made your Vietnamese Caramel Pork last night and it was to die for. Another dish I would like to see in the Cookbook. ♥️♥️ 🐶🐶
Nagi says
So glad you enjoyed it, Diane! N x
Evia says
I’ve made this twice, once with pork shoulder as instructed and now with pork ham (not the cooked kind, of course). Loved both but I think I actually prefer ham! Slightly less fatty and didn’t turn out dry at all. Anyhow, with your Asian Slaw AND coconut rice it’s absolutely divine.
Nagi says
So glad you enjoyed it Evia! N x
Mai says
I followed the recipe faithfully but at the end it didn’t caramelised. Looked crap but tasted ok.
Cindy says
Hi Nagi, can I substitute the coconut water? Between I have been cooking your recipes since Mar 2020. My family if 4 simply love your creation. I usually browse your site for inspirations before my weekly marketing trip.
Tamarah says
I think you’ve missed some steps in the written recipe. Could you please fix?
Tam says
ignore me, I didn’t read it properly. Sorry!
Iwik says
How good is this Vietnamese Pork dish. Preparation- no time at all. Amazing flavours and the pork was very tender. I used Pork Butt ( recommended by my Chinese butcher ) and served with Bok Choy and steamed rice. So good my partner wants me to cook it again soon.
Nagi says
Yes! N x
Sofia says
Amazing and new family favorite! Thank you
D says
Hi Nagi… This tasted amazing. I would like to try this with coconut milk the next time I make it. Should I reduce the amount of sugar?
Laura says
Nagi novice question but when you make a recipie like this can you make it in advance? How do you suggest reheating? And could I make more to freeze?
Nagi says
Hi Laura, you can make in advance and just reheat in the microwave. It’s fine to freeze too! N x