Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls

Here’s a super fast pork stir fry made with ground pork infused with flavours from the streets of Vietnam. With just a handful of ingredients you probably already have, it’s sweet, salty, beautifully caramelised and absolutely irresistible. It’s the quick and easy version of Vietnamese Caramel Pork, a famous Vietnamese food speciality!

This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!

Vietnamese stir fry – Pork Mince recipe

Ground pork – which we call “mince” here in Australia – is extremely good value.

It’s also just about the least sexy protein I know. Don’t you think? A dry aged piece of New York strip is sexy. Quail is gourmet. Oysters are….well, we’ve all heard that oysters are an aphrodisiac, right? 😉

Mince is…well, it just isn’t fancy. And yet, it makes it into my shopping trolley every single week because it’s such good value and so versatile. Sure, there are the usual suspects you can make with mince. Bolognese, meatballs, burgers, Meatloaf, Shepherds Pie – to name a few of the more common ones.

But sometimes, it’s nice to do something a little different. Like this Vietnamese pork stir fry.

The crazy thing about this pork mince recipe is that the ingredients list is so short. Chili, garlic, ginger, sugar and fish sauce. That’s it. Seriously!

Can I make this pork stir fry with chicken or beef mince?

Yes! This is fabulous made with chicken, beef and turkey!

“This is a terrific ground pork recipe that tastes and sounds so exotic…. yet it’s so easy!”

The secret to this ground pork  is the caramelisation. It is rare to see recipes made with ground meat that are cooked this way so the meat is caramelised.

But those golden brown bits you see – they are the crowning glory in this recipe that takes it from a rather unappetising pale brown-grey colour to a golden brown pile of deliciousness that you will want to eat with a spoon straight out of the skillet. (Go on – you deserve it – cook’s privileges!)

What you need

Short list – see? I didn’t exaggerate!!

Lemongrass is optional – it’s not a pantry staple and also it’s not an ingredient in traditional Vietnamese Caramel Pork. But lemongrass flavour is certainly at home in this dish!

How to make this Vietnamese pork mince stir fry

This pork mince stir fry comes together as quickly as any stir fry. Once you start cooking, you’ll be done in 6 minutes flat.

Authentic Vietnamese roots

I am not 1000% sure that this is strictly authentic Vietnamese but the combination of ingredients I use most certainly are and it is my replica of dishes I have tried at Vietnamese restaurants here in Australia. It is an adaptation of the marinade I use in my Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowl and essentially the quick version of Vietnamese Caramel Pork, a famous Vietnamese food speciality.

How to serve it

Serve this pork stir fry over rice and eat it with a spoon! This pork mince recipe doesn’t have a sauce, but  you don’t need it because the flavour is intensified and the pork mince mixes all through the rice which flavour it.

To complete your meal, try these:

• A fresh side salad like this Asian Slaw;

• Add a side of cucumber and tomato wedges, pictured (very classic South East Asian way to add vegetables to a meal); or

• Shredded lettuce, cucumber and carrots which makes it more like the classic Vietnamese Noodle Bowls.

• Make my Vietnamese Chicken Salad but without the chicken for a fresh, slaw-like salad side.

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x

PS For a healthy low carb option try Cauliflower Rice – 77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice.

Watch how to make it

This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!

Get your Vietnamese fix!

• Bun Cha – Vietnamese Meatballs (Noodle Bowl)

• Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

• Vietnamese Caramel Pork – and the Chicken version!

• Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!

• Vietnamese Noodle Salad

• Browse all Vietnamese recipes

More quick pork mince recipes

• Pork Stir Fry with Green Beans

• Bun Cha – Vietnamese Meatballs (Noodle Bowl)

• San Choy Bow (Chinese Lettuce Cups)

• Chinese Pork Mince with Noodles

• Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette with Pork)

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Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Total: 20 mins

Stir Fry

Vietnamese

4.94 from 376 votes

Servings4

Tap or hover to scale

Print

• 1936
• 161918

Recipe video above. An exciting way to use ground meat (mince) to make a quick stir fry that taste unbelievable! This is great made with chicken, turkey or pork. It also works with beef though it is better made with "white meats". Serve it over rice or vermicelli noodles to make rice bowls with shredded lettuce, carrots and cucumbers on the side (very classic Vietnamese meal!).

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil (I use peanut oil)
• ▢ 1/2 onion , finely diced (brown, white or yellow) (~1/2 cup)
• ▢ 2 tsp ginger , grated or minced
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , minced (2 tsp paste)
• ▢ 1 birds eye or Thai chili , deseeded and finely chopped (Note 1)
• ▢ 1 lb / 500g ground pork (mince) (Note 2)
• ▢ 5 tbsp brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tbsp fish sauce

Serving:

• ▢ 1 green onion stem , finely sliced
• ▢ Rice
• ▢ Sliced red chilli, tomato, cucumber (optional)

Instructions

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
• Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the pork mince and cook for 2 minutes or so until white all over, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
• Add the sugar and fish sauce. Stir, then leave it to cook without touching until all the juices cook out and the pork starts caramelised – about 2 minutes. Then stir it and leave it again, without stirring, for around 30 seconds to get more caramelisation. Repeat twice more until caramelised to your taste.
• Serve over rice or vermicelli noodles, garnished with sliced scallions/shallots. For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! I like to have chunks of plain cucumber and carrots on the side which is a classic way of making Vietnamese bowls.

Recipe Notes:

1. Birds eye chilis are small red chilis that are usually around 3 to 4cm (1.5 – 2″) long. They are very spicy! You can substitute with any chili you want, or even exclude it if you are making this for kids. Just adjust to your taste.

This dish is great to serve with sriracha on the side so people can add the amount of heat they want.

2. Other meat – recipe works great with chicken and turkey too. Beef will also work well.

3. Lemongrass is a lovely and very traditional Vietnamese herb used in dishes like this. 1 stalk, white part only, very VERY finely chopped. Add it into the skillet with the garlic. 

If you have lemongrass paste (see ingredient photo in post), add it with the brown sugar.

4. Nutrition is for the pork stir fry only, excludes the rice and assumes you use a lean pork (10% fat).

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 153gCalories: 341cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 17g (6%)Protein: 22g (44%)Fat: 13g (20%)Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)Cholesterol: 110mg (37%)Sodium: 782mg (34%)Potassium: 425mg (12%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 16g (18%)Vitamin A: 30IU (1%)Vitamin C: 3mg (4%)Calcium: 40mg (4%)Iron: 1mg (6%)

Keywords: Ground pork recipe, ground pork stir fry, Pork mince recipe, pork mince stir fry

Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Originally published November 2015. Updated September 2019 with new writing, some new photos, brand new video and most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!

Life of Dozer

Dozer on the wrong side of the counter at the pet shop!!!

(PS yes you spy cat treats, buying a present for a friend!)

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