Pork Belly braised in Coconut Water
Yes, I have an obsession with pork belly. This is a great Vietnamese dish that is very simple to make. This dish is very similar to a Thai dish one of my old roommates used to make, but pork shoulder was used instead of pork belly. I must admit, I think drinking coconut water is pretty gross. But when used as a braising liquid for pork belly, it is something magical when commingling with pork fat. I also love how the hard boiled eggs absorb some of the braising liquid, giving it a nice dark color.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 lb sliced pork belly 1" pieces
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 3 shallots sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 dried chilies
- 2 cups coconut water
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 5 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add the cooking oil. Sauté the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add in the pieces of pork belly. Brown on both sides.
- Add in the coconut water, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, dried chilies, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the hard boiled eggs. Cover. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
- The last 5 minutes of cooking, turn up the heat to medium high to help thicken the sauce. Add in the green onions.
- Before serving, remove the eggs and slice in half.
- Serve with steamed rice.
