Vietnamese Braised Pork with Egg or “Thịt Kho Trứng” is a traditional Vietnamese dish. The pork is braised or “kho” in coconut water and caramelized sugar to achieve the beautiful golden brown color and tender texture. It is best served with rice to soak up all the delicious dripping.
Phở is what most people think of when they think of Vietnamese food. But there are so many delicious dishes that you should try. One of them is this Vietnamese braised pork, it is one of my childhood favorites.
Traditionally, Thịt Kho is made with pork belly, with skin on and all, often braised in coconut water along with fresh coconut flesh. At least, that was the way my grandmother used to make it. I’m sure each family has their own way of making this traditional dish.
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Why you should try this recipe
- Vietnamese food is very diverse, and this is one of the dishes you may not find at a restaurant because it is typically eaten at home. There are a couple of restaurants that served this but I find the taste to up to par as compared to homemade.
- It’s perfect with rice or sticky rice, and very filling.
- The eggs is delicious after soaking up all the braising liquid and will remind you of ramen eggs! So you can certainly add leftover to instant ramen to elevate it.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips for each ingredient:
- Pork – I use a combination of pork belly and pork shoulder, cut into large chunks. You could use all pork belly or all pork shoulder, but I highly recommend half and half so you can cater to those who don’t want too much fat on their pork. I love the gelatinous texture of the pork belly skin after it has been braised for a long time.
- Eggs – hard boiled eggs are added toward the end of the braising process to allow them to soak up the braising liquid. I’ve never tried soft boiled eggs in this dish but I’m sure you could use soft or medium boiled eggs just the same.
- Coconut water – you can get 1 liter carton of coconut water at any grocery store for this. If you can find coconut water, using water for braising is fine too.
- Salt – simple kosher salt or sea salt will do. If you want to add more authentic flavor, add a splash of fish sauce to the recipe.
- Pepper – just use ground black pepper, you can adjust to your taste.
- Onion – I used yellow onion, you could also use shallots.
- Garlic – I used 4 cloves of garlic for flavor, feel free to use more or less depending on your taste.
- Sugar – caramelized sugar adds flavor and color to the pork.
How to make Vietnamese braised pork
Caramelized the sugar – cook the sugar and water over high heat until it caramelized and turn a deep amber color.
Add the pork and other ingredients – first, add the pork to the caramelized sugar and toss to coat. Then add salt, pepper and fish sauce (if using) to season the pork. Finally, add diced onion and smashed garlic and toss all together.
Braise the pork – add coconut water and water as needed to cover the surface of the pork, bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for at least 1 hour until the meat is tender and the liquid has reduced in half.
Add the eggs – after the meat has been simmer for an hour, check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. Then add the hard boiled eggs, try to submerge them in the braising liquid, cook for 20 minutes, turn the eggs if necessary half way through so they are seasoned evenly.
Tips
- Cut the pork into large chunks 1” or larger, you don’t want to cut it too small that it just fall apart immediately after braising for a long time.
- Don’t worry about the hard boiled eggs becoming rubbery from cooking too long. Since you’ll be cooking it in the braising liquid over very low heat, they will get seasoned well and become very delicious without getting hard or rubbery.
- Braise low and slow for tender and flavorful pork at the end.
Storage
Leftover braised pork can be refrigerated for up to a week.
FAQs
Yes, I have used a slow cooker before but didn’t record the time I cooked it in the slow cooker. You will need to watch out for the meat getting too tender and just disintegrate in the braising liquid. I don’t recommend you throw this on and go to work, you won’t be able to expect a great dish when you come back at night. But it can be convenient if you don’t want to have to watch the fire burning in the kitchen for a couple of hours.
You can use the instant pot to make the braising process faster. However, I actually don’t like using the instant pot for this recipe because it keeps all the steam in and the liquid doesn’t reduce. You will still need to cook the liquid down at the end so I think it is a little pointless to use an instant pot and I don’t recommend it.
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📖 Recipe card
Vietnamese Braised Pork with Eggs (Thịt kho trứng)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork belly (with skin is preferred, 907 g)
- 2 lbs pork shoulder (907 g)
- 1 liter carton coconut water (33.8 oz or about 4 ¼ cups)
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 onion (diced)
- 4 cloves of garlic (smashed)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Water
- 8 eggs (hard boiled)
Instructions
- Rinse the pork and pat dry, then cut into 1”x2” chunks.
- Dice the onion and smash the garlic, set aside.
- Add ¼ cup of sugar to a large pot, add about ½ cup of water to cover the sugar and place over high heat. Let the sugar and water cook until it is caramelized, do not stir.
- When most of the water evaporates and the mixture turns a deep amber color, add the pork to the pot and toss to coat in the caramel sauce.
- Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper, toss to season.
- Add the diced onion and smashed garlic to the pot, toss around to mix everything with the pork.
- Add coconut water, and more water if needed, so the liquid just cover the surface of the pork.
- Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium and let simmer for at least 1 hour until meat is tender and the liquid reduces to about half.
- Meanwhile, prepare the eggs by bringing water in a smaller pot to a boil, drop the egg in and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove the egg from boiling water and drop in cold water to cool. When cool to the touch, peel the eggs and set aside.
- When the meat has been cooking for at least 1 hour, check to see if you need to adjust seasoning.
- Add the peeled egg into the pot and submerge them in the braising liquid as much as possible. Reduce heat to low and let cook for another 20 minutes to half an hour, flipping the eggs half way so they are seasoned evenly by the braising liquid and turn a light brown color.
- Serve over rice.
Nutrition
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I’ve found my way to this recipe a number of times now. I think it’s time I try it. I love all types of Asian food and pork is also a favourite. Looks delicious