I’m just going to keep this description short since I usually skip over this when I’m searching for other recipes. Here’s how I currently make Vietnamese Braised Pork / Thịt Kho. I know there are lots of different ways to make it, but this is our favorite way so far. If you have any recommendations or suggestions, or if you see any mistakes, please let me know! I’m constantly tweaking the recipes to every dish we make. For those that already know how to make this, I’d love to know what you do differently 🙂
Continue reading to see the recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs pork spare ribs (at least)
- 6 tbsp fish sauce (or 3 tbsp fish sauce + 3 tbsp soy sauce)
- 1/2 tsp sugar (can add more if you’d like it sweeter)
- thick soy sauce (drizzled over mixture for color)
- minced shallots
- minced garlic
- salt & black pepper (to your preference)
- 1 cup of water
- green onions (cut into 1″ pieces)
- optional: Thai chilis
- optional: 1 can of coconut juice/water (we don’t use this)
- optional: hard-boiled eggs or can of quail eggs (drained)
Instructions:
- Parboil Ribs
Add ribs to a pot and cover with water.
Add salt and bring to a boil to remove impurities.
Remove the ribs from the pot and wash it thoroughly. - Marinate Ribs (optional)
(This step can actually be skipped if you’re short on time. I just like to marinate it in advance so that the flavors absorb into the meat.)
Mix everything together in a clean bowl, EXCEPT for the water and/or coconut juice, green onions, and eggs.
Allow ribs to marinate for 30 minutes to an hour (optional, but recommended)
Note: If you decide to skip the marinating step, you can just throw all of the ingredients straight into the pan. - Braised Ribs
Add 2 tbsp of any cooking oil to a hot pan, on medium-high heat.
Add ribs and mixture into the pan, and sear on all sides.
Add water. If you like to use coconut juice/water, add it during this step. We usually don’t because we prefer the salty version over sweet.
Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Braise for about an hour, so that your ribs can get tender.
After an hour, remove the lid, and increase the heat to reduce the sauce to your liking. This is when I like to add the hard-boiled eggs. (It can also be added ~30 min before-hand.)
If the sauce starts to dry out, you can add more water to your liking.
Turn off the heat, and add the green onions.
Hard-Boiled Eggs:
Add the eggs to a boiling pot of water (with salt and vinegar) by 1 inch.
Boil for about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and put it into an ice bath.
Peel the eggs.
Add the cooked eggs to the pot in the last ~30-40 minutes of cooking. The green onions can be added at this time also.
Notes:
There’s really no right or wrong way to do this. You can add more or less of any of the ingredients, as well as include extra ingredients you don’t see. You can also increase or reduce the time in any of the steps. Just keep in mind that the longer you let it simmer, the more tender the meat will be, and the longer you let it marinate, the deeper the flavor will absorb into your pork.
Let me know how yours turned out!
