Pork and pineapples go wonderfully together. There are many dishes from different countries that include these two ingredients. In Vietnam, we braise pork belly or pork shoulder with pineapples in a clay pot. It’s a savory dish with a hint of sweetness that goes wonderfully with steamed rice.
My husband doesn’t pineapples in these braised dishes. So for the longest time in our marriage, I didn’t make Vietnamese braised pork and pineapple (Thit Kho Thom). It was not practical to make a dish that only I would eat. The other night, I said, “Screw it! I’m making pork and pineapples and that’s that.” In my head, it was very dramatic. In real life, husband was just as happy that I cooked him dinner.
Recipe below. Happy cooking.
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Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly and Pineapple (Thit Kho Thom)
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
Small chunks of pork belly and pineapples, braised in a combination of fish sauce and sugar, this dish goes wonderfully with steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork belly
- 1 small shallot (peel and mince)
- 4 garlic cloves (peel and mince)
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon thick soy sauce or 1 teaspoon homemade caramel cooking sauce
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 8 oz pineapples chunks (1 cup with a bit a juice)
- 2 green onions/scallions (slice thinly; separate whites/greens)
Instructions
- Prepare pork belly: Cut pork belly into small chunks so that each chunk includes a bit of skin, fat and meat. In a claypot or skillet, marinate pork with shallots, garlic, whites of green onions, fish sauce, ground pepper, thick soy sauce/homemade caramel cooking sauce, and half of the sugar for at least 15 minutes.
- Braise: Heat the claypot on medium-low to a low simmer. Add pineapple and its juice. Braise for 45 minutes, uncovered. Cook 10 more minutes, uncovered, or until liquid reduces down into a glaze. Taste test if see if remaining sugar is needed (sometimes pineapples release a lot of its own sugar and additional sugar may not be needed).
- Finish: Garnish with remaining green onions and serve with steamed rice.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese
