I think this idea may have come to me in a dream… I love birria/quesabirria tacos. I can’t remember when I had it first, but I know it was life-changing. The tender meat, the melted cheese, and of course- the sauce!! It is truly such a decadent dish.

If you know Vietnamese food, then you know that when eating thịt kho, the braising sauce is just as incredible and delicious as the meat itself. What better way to treasure that delicious sauce than to make it a central component of this fusion dish?

These quesabirria-inspired thịt kho tacos combine the fatty, sweet and savory deliciousness of Vietnamese caramel braised pork belly with the genius format, cheesiness, and spicy kick of quesabirria tacos.

I promise, this fusion dish will knock your socks off. We have made it several times since I came up with it!

INGREDIENTS FOR THỊT KHO QUESABIRRIA TACOS

• Pork belly – Thịt ba chỉ: Technically, you can use any cut of pork to make this dish, but pork belly is the most decadent and my favorite- so unless you’re watching your cholesterol, I highly recommend it. When picking pork belly, try to find pieces that are about 50/50 meat and fat.
• Vietnamese braising caramel sauce – Nước hàng/nước màu: made with mainly sugar & water (the Southern version usually also contain coconut water). It is used in most Vietnamese kho (braised) dishes. You can usually find it pre-made in Asian grocery stores, but I prefer to make my own because it is easy and, in my opinion, tastes better. Get the recipe here.
• Shallot – Hành khô/Hành tím
• Garlic – Tỏi
• White onion – Hành tây trắng
• 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 đen xay
• Star-anise – Hoa hồi
• Cinnamon – Quế cây
• Dried bird’s eye chilies – Ớt hiểm khô
• Cilantro –  Ngò rí/rau mùi
• Culantro – Ngò gai
• Lime – Chanh
• Oaxaca cheese
• Corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS FOR THỊT KHO QUESABIRRIA TACOS

Preparing & marinating pork belly

1. Cut the pork into 2.5 – 3 cm pieces.
2. Add the meat to a pot and add enough cold water to barely cover.
3. Bring to a boil on medium high heat.
4. Let boil for 3-5 minutes, depending on the amount of meat you’re using. For 600g of pork, we boiled for 3 minutes.
5. Strain and rinse the meat well with cold water to remove any scum.
6. Mince garlic and shallot.
7. Add pork to a bowl with bouillon powder, ground pepper, fish sauce, all of the minced garlic, and half of the minced shallot.
8. Mix well and let marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight. (If you marinate for any longer than 1 hour, place the meat in the fridge)

Preparing other ingredients (You can do this now or later while the pork is braising)

1. Peel and dice white onion. Add to a bowl and set aside.
2. Rinse, remove tough stem parts, and roughly chop cilantro. Add to a bowl and set aside.
3. Cut to separate culantro leaves from whiter stem parts, and chop/slice thinly crosswise, as you would with green onion. Add to a bowl and set aside.

Braising pork belly

1. When the meat is done marinating, heat a heavy-bottomed sauce pan or pot on medium.
   NOTE: you don’t want to use a pot that is too large and would leave a lot of space between the pieces of meat.
2. Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.
3. Add the remaining half of the minced shallot and sauté until fragrant (about 30 seconds)
4. Pour in the pork belly and any remaining marinade.
5. Sauté for one minute.
6. Pour in water.
7. Add the nước hàng/nước màu (braising caramel sauce) along with the cinnamon stick, star anise pods, and dried chilies.
8. Cook on medium low with the lid off, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
   Keep an eye on the sauce level- if it starts getting too thick and dry towards the end, add a bit more water.
9. Remove the cinnamon stick, star anise pods, and chilies. Discard the cinnamon stick and star anise pods.
10. Remove the pork with a slotted spoon and set aside.
11. Add the chilies and a bit of the sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
12. Add the blended mixture back into the sauce pot. If the sauce is too thick, thin it out by adding a bit of extra water.
13. Roughly chop up the pork belly.

Making the tacos

1. Heat a skillet on medium with a small amount of oil.
2. Dip one side of a tortilla into the sauce and place in the skillet, dipped side down.
3. Tear off small pieces of cheese and add them across the surface of the tortilla.
4. Add about 2 tablespoons of chopped pork belly on one half of the tortilla, along with some chopped onion and cilantro.
5. Once the cheese has mostly melted, fold the non-meat half of the tortilla over the over the other half and press down with a spatula.
6. Remove to plate.
7. Repeat for other tacos.

Serving

1. Bring the sauce back to boil, then divide between small bowls- one per person.
2. Add chopped onion, cilantro, and culantro to each bowl.
3. Serve the tacos immediately while hot with a bowl of sauce and a few lime wedges.

RECIPE VIDEO