This traditional Vietnamese dish is popularly enjoyed during the lunar new year. When I was small, my grandma stewed this dish in a large clay pot for the whole family to eat over the course of three days. Because pigs use their snouts to pick food in a forward notion, so grandma said pigs symbolize hard work and progress. Eating pork on New Year’s is believed to help you bring in luck for our endeavors in the upcoming year.
Following is my grandma’s recipe to cook a traditional Vietnamese (fusion Chinese) caramelized shrimp with pork.
INGREDIENTS
- 1lb (500 grams) pork belly thinly sliced
- 1½lb (750 grams) white shrimps head and shell-on
- 1 scallion stem
- 2 tsp of salt
- 2 tsp of pepper
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 1 tbsp of cooking oil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp of sugar
- 3 tbsp of fish sauce
- 1 tbsp of chili oil
STEPS
- Mince 1 scallion stem and 2 garlic cloves.
- Slice the pork belly into thin strips. Marinade it in 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper, 1 cup of chicken stock, and white portion of scallion stem. Set aside.
- Season shrimps with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper. Set aside.
- In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Fry mince garlic for 1 minute on medium heat.
- Add the marinated pork belly and stir-fry on medium-high until no longer pink.
- Turn to high heat and add the shrimps. Stir well.
- Add 3 tbsp of sugar and 3 tbsp of fish sauce. Stir for 15 minutes while on high heat. Add 1 tbsp of chili oil.
- Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with chopped scallion.
There you go. That’s how to cook Vietnamese caramelized shrimp with pork for 4 persons, with total 10 minutes preparation and about 30 minutes cooking. We hope you enjoy cooking Vietnamese shrimp with pork at home, and please contact us if there is anything we can help.
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