Asian-Style Caramel Pork

Perfectly tender pork, a deliciously rich sauce that is slightly sweet yet remains savoury, Asian-Style Caramel Pork has it all!

This recipe is the perfect example of a family favourite being passed on from family member to family member, each giving their own special touch, until it ends up being a totally unique dish that is well-loved by everyone around the table.

My husband’s uncle was vietnamese and owned a restaurant in Paris for many years in the ’60s-’70s. I believe this dish orignated from him, he passed it onto my Mother-in-law, who taught it to my husband. My husband used to make it for me back in the days before we were married, and I soon picked up the recipe. I have made it my own by adding aubergines and spices, which I was inspired to do after eating something similar in a vietnamese restaurant many years ago.

All that to say, it is truly one of our family’s most loved go-to recipes and I hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

Asian-Style Caramel Pork Ingredients

For 8 servings

• 1.2kg pork in 2.5cm cubes
• 250ml soy sauce
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
• 2 aubergines, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• Squeeze of lemon or lime (optional)
• Rice (to serve)
• Toppings: pickled carrot, sesame seeds, coriander (optional)

Pork

I like to use a cut of pork that is fairly fatty as this adds both flavour and tenderness. Pork shoulder works very well for this.

If you prefer a more lean cut, I would suggest pork filet. A more pricey cut, but very tasty, would be pork tenderloin. This would make your dish extra special!

Soy Sauce

I try to buy a good quality soy sauce, just be careful as most ‘soy’ sauces are actually made mostly from wheat. If you are allergic or have an intolerance to gluten, you can find gluten free soy sauce in some organic supermarkets or online.

Alternatively, you can use fish sauce, but 3 tbsp will be enough to season the meal.

Sugar

This time I used normal white sugar but I do occasionally use brown sugar which I find gives the sauce an even deeper flavour.

Chinese Five Spice

This is a spice blend that contains star anise, cinnamon, cloves, sechuan pepper and fennel. You can add up to 2 tsp in this recipe, depending on how much spice you enjoy. Or, if you prefer, you can leave the spice out all together, the dish will still be delicious!

In actual fact, the last time I made this recipe, I only had a four spice blend that contained cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. It was just as good as always.

Aubergine

If you don’t like aubergine, take heart, this recipe might still be for you! The aubergine soaks up all the flavour of the sauce and almost melts into it. In fact, the aubergine BECOMES the sauce. I have made this for people who hate aubergines but love this recipe!

However, if you are not convinced, or don’t have any aubergines to hand, you can also use carrots (4 medium sized), although they will not add the richness to the sauce. Or, you can leave out the vegetables all together. You will need to keep an eye on water quantities if you do this as you do not want the sauce to be too thin.

Onions

These are essential, they give so much flavour to the sauce, don’t leave them out!

Lemon or lime

This adds a touch of acidity and finshes of the dish nicely. I did not add any the last time I made this as I was serving it with pickled carrots, adding lemon or lime would have made the overall flavour too acidic.

Equipment Needed to Make Asian-Style Caramel Pork

Nothing special is needed for this recipe, just a wide saucepan, wooden spoon, knife and chopping board.

How to Make Asian-Style Caramel Pork

Fry

Heat some olive oil in the pan and fry the pork for 6 minutes, turning after 3 minutes. If you have the oil hot enough and you don’t touch the pork when you put it in the pan, it should not release too much water. Fry in 2 batches so that there is not too much pork in the pan at once.

Once the pork is browned on both sides, remove from the pan and keep on one side in a bowl.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions to the pan. Fry for 2 minutes until transluscent.

Add the aubergines and fry for 5 mins.

Remove the onions and aubergines from the pan and keep in a bowl to one side.

Caramelise

To make the caramel, add sugar to the pan and leave to caramelise on a medium heat. Don’t be tempted to stir the sugar until it has fully caramelised. Watch the pan carefully, you want the caramel to be a light brown colour, once it starts browning it can burn very quickly!

As soon as the sugar has caramelised, add the pork, stir well and then add the soy sauce. Cook for 1 min in order for the pork to absorb the flavour.

Add the spices, if using and allow to cook for another minute.

Now add vegetables to the pan, followed by 125 ml of water.

Cook

Bring to boil, turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 30-45 mins. Don’t forget to check the thickness of the sauce and add more water if necessary. The aubergines will cook down to make a thick, rich, delicious sauce. Finish with a squeeze of lemon or lime (optional).

Serve

Serve this dish on its own with plain white rice or add a bit of a kick with some pickled carrots (leave out the squeeze of lemon or lime if you do). Top with coriander and sesame seed (optional).

Asian-Style Caramel Pork: From My Family to Your’s

So, give this dish a try next time you have family or friends over. It also is a great make-ahead meal for busy week nights and freezes really well.

Let me know in the comments if you try it, I love to hear from you 🙂 I hope your family loves it as much as mine does!

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