Vietnamese Caramel Pork

Name: Vietnamese Caramel Pork
Total time: 20 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil; 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 cup chopped onion; 1 cup chopped carrot; 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger; 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; 1 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson); 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar; 1 tablespoon fish sauce; 1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 2 teaspoons rice vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 1 (8.8-ounce) package precooked white rice; 1 cup thinly sliced napa (Chinese) cabbage; 1/4 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts; 1/4 cup cilantro leaves; 4 lime wedges

22 Reviews

ADD YOUR REVIEW

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Ginny Branch

Hands-on Time

20 Mins

Total Time

20 Mins

Yield

Serves 4

Instead of making caramel from scratch, we use brown sugar, which is much quicker.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (8.8-ounce) package precooked white rice
1 cup thinly sliced napa (Chinese) cabbage
1/4 cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
4 lime wedges

How to Make It

Step 1

Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork; stir-fry 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove pork from pan. Add onion, carrot, ginger, and garlic to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Combine stock and next 6 ingredients (through red pepper) in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add stock mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 4 minutes or until sauce is thick and bubbly. Return pork to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring to coat.

Step 2

Spoon 1/2 cup rice onto each of 4 plates; top each serving with 3/4 cup pork mixture and 1/4 cup cabbage. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon peanuts and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

Ratings & Reviews

contentedgirl's Review

2014-05-14T09:14:15-04:00 LisaEJ

I made this recipe the other night for my husband & step son who was visiting. They both raved & said that this was the best pork tenderloin they'd eaten! Quite the praise for this recipe. The only difference I made was that instead of just putting it over the plain rice, I used the recipe for the rice with green peas and rice vinegar from the CL Caramel Pork recipe. Other than that, I followed it exactly. Definitely one I will make again - especially with those kind of praises!

Really Good!!

2015-11-10T17:38:45-05:00 harrisab

We loved this dish. Super easy, healthy and delicious! http://determinedwwmomma.blogspot.com

Better than take out Chinese food

2015-05-08T23:08:06-04:00 ksmith6103

We loved this. Not difficult at all to make and every bit as good as what you'd get from a Chinese restaurant. Will definitely make this often. We had a Thai-inspired cucumber salad along side. Perfect. I would definitely make this for guests - but a double batch of course.

Tatiana's Review

2014-09-24T14:55:27-04:00 Meredithbrennan

This was excellent. Loved the combination of flavors with all the garnishes. Will definitely make again!

ksmith6103's Review

2014-09-09T16:30:08-04:00 DKchef1

I love so many CL Asian recipes but this just wasn't one of them. As someone else referenced, it was rather bland and I tasted no "caramel" flavor. It looked great on paper but I will not be making this again : (

harrisab's Review

2014-09-02T13:16:04-04:00 CSReach

We have made this many times and my 3 children love it. I did not use the carrot or cabbage because we do not care for either and do not have it on and and still felt it was perfect. Served with rice and edamame.

carolfitz's Review

2014-09-01T06:09:20-04:00 ksquaredplus1

Made pork to recipe. Subbed thin coleslaw mix instead of buying head of Napa cabbage. Followed contentedgirl's suggestion & served with CL's sushi-rice-and-green peas. Also fresh pineapple spears. Very good supper.

Meredithbrennan's Review

2014-06-06T13:28:41-04:00 cstovall

This dish is as delicious as it is easy. After quickly inhaling his first portion, my husband proclaimed that this was his new favorite recipe! I made it exactly as written and it turned out perfectly. It's a great new addition to our regular rotation of weekday meals.

kkparsons13's Review

2014-05-28T08:39:05-04:00 DeterminedWW

I was really disapponted in his one. It took me more like 50 minutes to prepare and was nothing special. I have lots of tastier stir fry recipes. Will not make this one again.

CraigfromSC's Review

2014-05-18T15:28:48-04:00 jnanas

I thought this was delicious. Mixed reviews from the family though, so dropped a star. The only change I made was to use thick cut pork chops instead of pork tender loin (They were on sale), other than that I made it exactly as written and served over white rice. Great combination of sweet and spice. So here were the families comments: Daughter (12) - Too sweet. Son (8) - Too bland and too spicy (I'll let YOU try and figure out what that means) and the Wife just said that it had a little too much ginger. Overall I thought it was delicious and would make it again. I'll have to tweak it a tad and try and sneak it back in the rotation.

Vietnamese Caramel Pork

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Ratings & Reviews

contentedgirl's Review

Really Good!!

Better than take out Chinese food

Tatiana's Review

ksmith6103's Review

harrisab's Review

carolfitz's Review

Meredithbrennan's Review

kkparsons13's Review

CraigfromSC's Review

Vietnamese Caramel Pork

Ingredients

Nutritional Information

How to Make It

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Build-a-Meal

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