Ba rọi chiên nước mắm • Vietnamese fish sauce fried pork belly

Mai

This pork belly might as well be a fruit because it’s so juicy. This delicious dish is one that frequently appears on Vietnamese dinner tables and will be familiar to many in one of its versions or another. It involves marinating and frying pork belly until golden, then cooking it in a super flavorful combination of fish sauce, sugar, chilies, and aromatics.

The origin of this dish is unclear, but based on the flavors and use of aromatics, it likely originated in the south of Vietnam.

Since we’re frying large pieces of pork belly whole, this means the outside gets crispy, yet the moisture stays locked in and the inside remains juicy and tender. The sauce is addicting- it’s sweet, savory, a little spicy, and super flavorful with the unstoppable trio of garlic, shallot, and lemongrass.

The aromatics are sweated first to bring out the flavors, then the sauce is poured in and allowed to briefly cook until bubbling. This lets some of the water evaporate and results in a thick and glossy sauce that coats the fried pork belly pieces.

Go ahead and load up your bowl of rice- you’re going to want a lot of it to go along with this dish.

INGREDIENTS FOR BA RỌI CHIÊN NƯỚC MẮM

• Pork belly – Thịt ba rọi/thịt ba chỉ
• Garlic – Tỏi
• Shallot – Hành tím/hành khô
• Lemongrass – Sả
• Ginger – Gừng
• Bird’s eye chilies – Ớt hiểm
• Fish sauce – Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
• Bouillon – Hạt nêm: think broth, but in solid form. Bouillon is an amazingly easy way to bring that umami flavor to your food. We use it instead of salt in many of our dishes. You can usually find chicken, pork, or mushroom bouillon. In Vietnam, Knorr is the most common brand. However, we have only been able to find Knorr in powder form in the US and France, not granules. Instead, we use Totole brand chicken or mushroom bouillon. The quantities on our website are based on the granule-type so if you use powder, adjust to your taste.
• Ground black pepper – Tiêu xay
• Sugar – Đường
• Salt – Muối
• Cornstarch – Tinh bột ngô
• Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật

DIRECTIONS FOR BA RỌI CHIÊN NƯỚC MẮM

1. Cut pork belly along the grain into long strips about 3cm-wide (we will cut against the grain when slicing before serving).
2. Cut ginger into slices.
3. Add pork belly to a pot with the ginger and salt.
4. Add enough water to cover the meat and bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes.
5. Remove pork belly from the pot and rinse to remove scum.
6. Let the pork belly sit in a sieve/strainer to air dry.
7. Mince garlic and shallot.
8. Once the surface of the pork has dried, using a fork or skewer, prick a lot of holes in the skin.
9. Place the pork into a bowl and add all the marinade ingredients, along with half of the mince shallot and garlic.
10. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
11. In the meantime, mince bird’s eye chili(es) and slice lemongrass.
12. In bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well.
13. Once the pork is done marinating, use your fingers, a spoon or a brush to brush off bits of garlic and shallot from the pork before coating it in a thin layer of cornstarch.
14. Add enough oil to a pan to create a 2cm layer and heat on medium.
15. Place the pork belly into the pan and fry until golden on all sides, then place the pork on an oil rack or paper-towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
16. NOTE: do not fry the skin side for too long, or it will become tough.
17. In a clean pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, add in the remaining minced shallot and garlic, along with the minced lemongrass, and sweat the aromatics for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
18. Pour in the sauce, stirring continuously.
19. When the sauce begins to bubble, add in the fried pork belly and cook for about 3 minutes, flipping the meat to let each side cook in the sauce.
20. Remove the pork belly from the pan and slice into pieces, about 1cm thick.
21. Serve immediately with rice.

Ba rọi chiên nước mắm • Vietnamese fish sauce fried pork belly

Recipe by MM Bon Appétit Course: MainCuisine: VietnameseDifficulty: Medium

Makes

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Tender and juicy pork belly fried until golden then cooked in a glossy and fragrant- sweet, savory, and spicy sauce.

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• 500 g 500 pork belly

• 1 small 1 knob of ginger

• 1 tsp 1 salt

• Cornstarch

• Vegetable oil

• 10 g 10 garlic

• 30 g 30 shallot

• 25 g 25 lemongrass

• Marinade

• 1 tsp 1 bouillon

• 1 tsp 1 fish sauce

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 sugar

• 1/2 tsp 1/2 ground black pepper

• Sauce

• 2 tbsp 2 fish sauce

• 1 tbsp 1 sugar

• 2 tbsp 2 water

• 2 2 minced bird’s eye chilies (adjust to taste)

Directions

• Cut pork belly along the grain into long strips about 3cm-wide (we will cut against the grain when slicing before serving).
• Cut ginger into slices.
• Add pork belly to a pot with the ginger and salt.
• Add enough water to cover the meat and bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and boil for 10 minutes.
• Remove pork belly from the pot and rinse to remove scum.
• Let the pork belly sit in a sieve/strainer to air dry.
• Mince garlic and shallot.
• Once the surface of the pork has dried, using a fork or skewer, prick a lot of holes in the skin.
• Place the pork into a bowl and add all the marinade ingredients, along with half of the mince shallot and garlic.
• Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
• In the meantime, mince bird’s eye chili(es) and slice lemongrass.
• In bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well.
• Once the pork is done marinating, use your fingers, a spoon or a brush to brush off bits of garlic and shallot from the pork before coating it in a thin layer of cornstarch.
• Add enough oil to a pan to create a 2cm layer and heat on medium.
• Place the pork belly into the pan and fry until golden on all sides, then place the pork on an oil rack or paper-towel lined plate to remove excess oil.
  NOTE: do not fry the skin side for too long, or it will become tough.
• In a clean pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, add in the remaining minced shallot and garlic, along with the minced lemongrass, and sweat the aromatics for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
• Pour in the sauce, stirring continuously.
• When the sauce begins to bubble, add in the fried pork belly and cook for about 3 minutes, flipping the meat to let each side cook in the sauce.
• Remove the pork belly from the pan and slice into pieces, about 1cm thick.
• Serve immediately with rice.

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