Vietnamese Braised Pork In Coconut Recipes

Steps:

• In a clay pot or large saucepan, stir together the sugar and water.
• Over low heat, cook until it's a golden color, 5 to 10 minutes; watch closely, since as soon as the color begins to change, the sugar mixture can darken very quickly and burn.
• Remove from heat.
• Carefully stir in the coconut juice and fish sauce-- there may be a little spattering.
• Return to very low heat and stir until well blended, scraping up any caramelized pieces stuck to bottom of pan.
• Stir in the pork.
• Then stir in the shallots, ginger and five-spice powder.
• Simmer, partially covered, until pork is very tender, about 2 hours, stirring from time to time and checking to make sure liquid is not simmering too hard.
• When done, stir in the pepper.
• To serve, bring the clay pot to the table and serve from that, or spoon the stew into bowls.
• Garnish with the wedges of hard-cooked egg.
• Note: Do not substitute coconut milk.

Steps:

• Gently place the eggs in a pot and just cover with water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook until soft-boiled, about 5 minutes (about 2 minutes for quail eggs.) Rinse under cold water and allow to cool completely. Carefully shell the eggs intact. Make a caramel by combining the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. When the sugar is melted and turns a rich gold, about 8 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut juice and fish sauce (or 3 cups water and the soy sauce.) Reduce the heat to low and stir until the sauce is completely smooth. Add the pork shanks, turning them to coat evenly on all sides. Add the scallions, ginger, garlic, chilies, star anise, and five-spice powder, and simmer, covered, turning shanks occasionally, until the meat is fork tender, about 4 hours. With a ladle, skim off the fat and add the eggs. Continue simmering, ladling sauce over the eggs occasionally, until the eggs turn golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes.