Thịt Kho Tàu (Vietnamese Caramelised Pork and Egg)

Overview

Pork belly (and sometimes pork shoulder) caramelised in nước màu (Entry ND-42), then braised in coconut water with fish sauce and hard-boiled eggs until the pork is tender and the braising liquid has reduced to a deep, glossy sauce. Thịt kho tàu is the Vietnamese equivalent of the Chinese hong shao rou (Entry FD-09) — a soy-and-sugar long braise — but the Vietnamese version uses coconut water (from young coconuts) rather than stock, producing a slightly sweeter, cleaner braising liquid, and nước màu rather than soy sauce for the colour and caramel note.

Key Principles

**The caramelisation:**

The pork belly pieces are caramelised in a small amount of nước màu in a hot wok — the caramel coats the surface of the pork and develops Maillard colour on the meat surface before any liquid is added.

**The coconut water:**

Fresh coconut water (from young green coconuts) provides both the braising liquid and a gentle sweetness that moderates the caramel's bitterness. Canned coconut water is an acceptable substitute.

**The eggs:**

Hard-boiled eggs (Vietnamese style: boiled for 10 minutes, peeled), added to the braise in the last 20 minutes. They absorb the braising liquid's colour and flavour.

**The fish sauce:**

The primary salt — added throughout the braise, adjusted at the end.

**The long braise:**

1 to 1.5 hours at a gentle simmer — until the pork yields completely to a chopstick.

Decisive moment: The final sauce consistency — identical to hong shao rou's lacquering principle (Entry FD-09). The reduced sauce should coat the pork in a thin, glossy film when the pork is lifted from the pot. If the sauce is still thin: continue reducing uncovered.

Source

Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford, *Hot Sour Salty Sweet* (2000); Naomi Duguid, *Burma: Rivers of Flavor* (2012)