Vietnamese Braised Black Pepper Pork (Thit Kho Thieu)

This was a comfort meal for my mom growing up. My sister and I were not fans of it but now as an adult….I crave it! There’s something so comforting about the dish that just feels like a warm hug in a bowl. This dish is traditionally served with plain rice porridge or you can eat it with plain white rice.

Watch video HERE. Recipe below.

INGREDIENTS:

For the pork—

• 1 lb pork shoulder

• 1 small shallot

• 3-4 cloves garlic

• 4 green onions; whites and greens separated

• 1.5 tsp dark soy sauce

• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce

• 1.5 tbsp sugar

• pinch of salt

• lots of black pepper

• red pepper flakes

• 1 cup filtered water

• avocado oil

For the rice porridge (optional)—

*serves two

• 1/2 cup jasmine rice; rinsed

• 3 cups water

• pinch of salt

DIRECTIONS:

For the Pork -

1. Peel shallot and 3-4 garlic gloves. Give it a rough chop.

2. Chop green onion and separate green parts from white parts.

3. Add shallots, garlic and the white parts of the green onion to a mortar and pestle along with a small spoonful of sugar and grind it until the aromatics are soft and mushy. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can add to a food processor or just chop on cutting board with a little bit of sugar and mash it with the side of your knife until the same consistency appears.

4. Slice pork into bite size pieces and add to a large mixing bowl.

5. To the meat, add in your smashed aromatics, 1.5 tsp dark soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp sugar, pinch of salt, red pepper flakes (to tase) and a lotttt of black pepper (the dish should taste very peppery and spicy but you can add as much or as little as you like). Mix and set aside.

6. To a medium sized pot over medium high heat, add a tbsp avocado oil.

7. Once oil is hot, add in pork. Stir fry until seared and fragrant.

8. Add in 1 cup filtered water, bring to a boil and lower heat to a low simmer, partially covered for 20-30 minutes until pork turns a dark caramelized color and sauce has thickened. Be sure to check on it throughout and mix occasionally so the sugar in the sauce doesn’t burn.

9. Once sauce has thickened turn off heat. Taste for seasonings. Add more pepper if needed.

For the rice porridge —

1. Rinse 1/2 cup jasmine rice until water runs clear.

2. Bring 3 cups filtered water to a boil in medium sized pot.

3. Add rice, stir and wait for water return to a boil again

4.  Turn the heat down to medium low to a low bubble and cover and for 20 minutes. Stir and check consistency. If you like your porridge more thick, simmer longer, if you like it more loose, add more water.

To serve, spoon rice porridge or plain white rice into a small bow and top with pork. Garnish with green parts of green onion and enjoy!