Recipe: Vietnamese Coconut Pork

I saw this delicious recipe last week over on Crepes of Wrath and needed to get it in the rotation as soon as possible. I had a few reasons for wanting to make this one: it looked amazing, I love one pot wonders, I was looking for new spices to spend our Penzey’s gift card on, and we were looking for a healthy but fun meal for our last Sunday dinner in our apartment. Mission accomplished!

The whole thing was crazy delicious. I adapted the recipe a little bit to my liking and quantities but the credit is due to CoW.

Vietnamese Coconut Pork
Total Cooking Time: 4.5 hours
Yield: 2 servings

2 tbsp. EVOO
1 (or so) lbs. pork, cubed into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. minced garlic
2 medium sized shallots, finely minced
2 tbsp. soy sauce (any kind)
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. Chinese 5 spice
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 can low-fat coconut milk
1 cup almond milk

You also need a starch and vegetable to serve the pork over. We used Israeli couscous and asparagus. You could use rice, soba noodles, quinoa, snap peas, peppers, edamame, anything really.

Start by preheating a deep pot. I used the gorgeous Le Creuset dutch oven we got as a wedding shower gift. Set over medium heat and add your EVOO. Next cube your pork. Drop it in gently, season with salt and pepper, and brown.

When your pork is browned pour in your coconut milk. Give it a stir and let it warm up.

In a separate bowl combine your shallots, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, Chinese 5 spice, ginger, and red pepper flake. Mix thoroughly and add to the pot, stir to combine.

The heavy lifting is done! Put the cover on, lower the heat to simmer, and leave it alone for two hours. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom.

After 2 hours add in your almond milk (any kind of milk would do really). Stir, cover, and simmer for another two hours. After two hours, uncover the pot, bump the heat up to medium, and reduce uncovered for 30 minutes.

The pork at 2 hours and then 4 hours:

During the final 15 minutes or so prepare your starch and veggies.

I made up my couscous in a flash (1:1 ratio).

My asparagus cooked up quickly as well – I cooked it over medium heat with a few tablespoons of water then lightly sautéed with a tablespoon of EVOO.

Place your couscous in a bowl, cover with asparagus, and then pour on your pork and sauce.

This meal was amazing. The whole time we were eating it John and I could not stop saying how yummy it was. Truly a restaurant quality dish. Not to mention that it’s healthy, you could easily increase the recipe to make a bigger quantity, and it’s so easy – combine everything in one pot and walk away! This will definitely become a repeat meal in our house.