Chunks of pork shoulder slow-cooked with shallots, garlic, fish sauce, and coconut soda until the sauce caramelises around hard-boiled eggs and the meat melts apart. A home-style Vietnamese braise, especially around Lunar New Year.
Yield
6 servings
Prep
15 min
Braise
60–90 min
Total
~2 hr
Method
Cut the pork into 1-inch cubes (or slightly smaller). Have the hard-boiled eggs peeled and ready.
Make the caramel sauce in a large pot: heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of sugar over medium heat. Watch closely as it shifts from clear to amber. Lower the heat and let it deepen to a dark caramel — golden-brown, glossy. Stop here. Any darker and it turns bitter; if that happens, throw it out and start again.
Lower the heat. Add the minced garlic and shallots and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
Bring the heat back up to medium-high. Add the pork and stir to coat the cubes in the caramel.
Pour in the fish sauce and continue stirring until the pork is browned on all sides.
Add the coconut soda and water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam or scum that rises to the surface.
Reduce to a low simmer. Add the hard-boiled eggs, the remaining ½ teaspoon of sugar, and the chicken bouillon if using.
Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and let it simmer gently for 60 to 90 minutes, until the pork is tender and the sauce has reduced to a glossy, deeply coloured braise. Stir once or twice along the way to coat the eggs.
Serve over steamed jasmine rice with pickled vegetables on the side.