Vietnam - Vietnamese Braised Pork in Coconut

Vietnamese Braised Pork in Coconut

Ingredients

-       2 tablespoons sugar

-       3 tablespoons cold water

-       1 can (14 ounces) coconut juice (See Note)

-       3 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam)

-       1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, with some fat, cut into 1-inch cubes

-       4 shallots, thinly sliced

-       2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

-       1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

-       1/4 teaspoon bl ack pepper

-       4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into wedges

Directions

-       In a clay pot or large saucepan, stir together the sugar and water.

-       Over low heat, cook until it's a golden color, 5 to 10 minutes; watch closely, since as soon as the color begins to change, the sugar mixture can darken very quickly and burn.

-       Remove from heat.

-       Carefully stir in the coconut juice and fish sauce -- there may be a little spattering.

-       Return to very low heat and stir until well blended, scraping up any caramelized pieces stuck to bottom of pan.

-       Stir in the pork.

-       Then stir in the shallots, ginger and five-spice powder.

-       Simmer, partially covered, until pork is very tender, about 2 hours, stirring from time to time and checking to make sure liquid is not simmering too hard.

-       When done, stir in the pepper.

-       To serve, bring the clay pot to the table and serve from that, or spoon the stew into bowls.

-       Garnish with the wedges of hard-cooked egg.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: Do not substitute coconut milk.

Serving tip: For a more substantial meal, serve the stew over cooked rice noodles or white rice.