Thit Kho Trung (Braised Pork w/ Egg in Caramel Sauce)

During my childhood, my mom would cook a whole lot of Vietnamese food. One of my favorite dishes has always been Thit Kho. What's even better was that mom would cut the cubes of pork so there would still be fatty pieces with skin, but still have the leaner pieces for me ♥! When you eat Thit Kho with some good old white rice, it just feels like good home cooking. This one is for my homesick friend, Wally.

Thit Kho Tau


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of pork w/ skin
• 6 eggs
• 1 medium sized shallot, sliced into thin rings (about 1 full Tbsp)
• 4 cloves of garlic (about 1 full Tbsp)
• 1 Tbsp vinegar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil (can use vegetable or canola oil)
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 can Coco Rico soda
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp of thick soy sauce (store bought)
  ^or if you don’t have any you can make it. Simmer sugar and a tiny bit of water to kind of make caramel sauce.

Step 1
Bring pot of water to a boil and add your eggs in. Cook about 6 minutes (you’ll know when they are ready when you can pick them up with chopsticks).

Step 2

While eggs are cooking, wash pork; scrape off any dirty particles or hair from skin. Cut into cubes about 1 inch or slightly bigger. My mom says buy the pork with skin on, but pick a piece that has the whitest skin.

Step 3
Turn heat down to low and take the eggs out of the boiling water. Add 1 Tbsp of vinegar and ½ tsp of salt into the water that you boiled the eggs in and carefully place your pork cubes into the hot water. In the mean time, place your eggs in a cold bowl of water and peel off the shells. Set aside. Then mince your garlic and slice your shallots. After 5 minutes or when water comes to a boil, turn heat off and drain pork cubes.

Step 4
Take that same pot you used to boil water and make sure it has dried off. Add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and sauté your shallots on medium heat (about 1 minute). Then add your pork cubes into the pot along with 1 tsp of salt and thick soy sauce. Then add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Step 5

Add 1 Tbsp of fish sauce and 1 tsp of sugar and mix it up. Then add the coco soda and ¼ cup of water into the pot. Then add your boiled eggs into the mix. Cover and bring to a boil. Then turn heat to low setting. Cover and simmer on low for about 2 hours to ensure your meat is tender. One sign that it's done is if the liquid has become slightly thicker and reduced to about 1/8 of the original amount.

Once done, you may store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Good luck and enjoy :)