Every year, when it comes to Tet- the Lunar New Year in Vietnam, people from across the country come back to their hometown for a family reunion. Among the foods that they prepare for the big occasion, Braised pork and eggs (thịt kho tàu) come out as the must-have dish in every kitchen, and it is what I am going to introduce to you today. You may be amazed at how a delicious dish is made out of my very simple recipe.
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- Step 1- Preparing the pork
Cut pork into large pieces. I strongly recommend using the pork belly because a bit of fat under the simmering process adds a savory taste to the dish. Even when most Vietnamese people discard the fat while enjoying the dish, they choose this part of pork anyway.
Mix the pork with fish sauce (the most important ingredient), sugar, chopped garlic, and ground chili. Let the porks absorb the seasonings in at least 2 hours
- Step 2- Preparing the eggs
Simply boil the eggs ( either chicken, duck or quail eggs) and peel them
- Step 3- Cooking
Put a large pot on the stove, pouring sugar and water into it under light heat to make caramel which decides the fantastic color of the dish. If you find this step challenging just because the caramel can be easily burnt, just skip it and simply pour the porks into the pot and stir it well in 2-3 minutes.
After that, add coconut water (2 fruits) together with the peeled eggs into the pork and simmer for 2 hours. In this step, the longer the simmering process is, the darker the color of the dish becomes, which is truly how a traditional Vietnamese Braised pork and eggs look like.
My mom's pot for last Lunar New Year
- Step 4- Enjoying the fruits of your labor
Have the dish with a bowl of plain rice and you will soon realize that it is everything for a good meal
Good luck