Pork and egg stew (thit kho nuoc dua)

Thit ko is a popular braised pork belly dish. You can find it at street stalls and restaurants across Vietnam.

• serves

  8

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  50 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 60 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp liquid palm sugar (see Note), or 1 tbsp palm sugar, grated, melted
• ½ tsp chicken stock powder
• 2 red bird’s-eye chillies
• 1 kg boneless pork belly, rind removed (optional), cut into 3 cm pieces
• 800 ml coconut water (see Note)
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled, halved
• 4 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled
• 60 g bamboo shoot wedges (see Note)
• steamed rice, to serve

The dish is designed to be part of a banquet or shared meal.

Chilling time 1½ hours

Instructions

Combine fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, chicken stock and chillies in a large bowl. Add pork and turn to coat in marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1½ hours.

Bring coconut water, garlic and 500 ml water to the boil in a large stockpot. Reduce heat to medium, discard garlic, and add pork and marinade. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Add eggs and bamboo shoots, and cook for a further 15 minutes or until pork is tender. Serve with steamed rice.

Note

• Liquid palm sugar, coconut water and bamboo shoot wedges are from Asian food shops. Coconut water is sold in cans or bottles and is also from supermarkets. Bamboo shoot wedges are sold in cans or vacuum-packed.

Photography by Olga Bennett.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.