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Sweet caramelized pork with rice

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So much flavor in your plate-try this sticky caramelized pork with rice and you will enjoy every bite of it,i promise!

close shot of caramelized sticky meat on top of white rice

What can i say about the most delicious pork i ever tried? A perfect balance of salt from soy sauce and brown sugar gives this dish an incredible taste!

And when you simmer it for a while, it gives it that caramel effect, so beloved by everyone. Add some simple white rice and the dish is complete.

What part of pork to use?

I don’t recommend to use any lean part of pork, like loin or tenderloin. The dish will be pretty dry! The best meat to use will be pork shoulder ( that’s what i used here), pork belly or boneless pork ribs. It has just right amount of fat to keep the pork tender and moist.

How to serve caramel pork

The best way to serve this pork recipe would be probably with plain white rice. It will be a perfect fit for a flavorful pork sauce. Another delicious option for the side will be sauteed vegetables. Leave them on a crunchy side to freshen up your plate.

pork and rice dish with chopped green onions on top in a white bowl

Perfect sticky pork tips

I received lots of comments about this recipe, here and on Pinterest. People love the recipe! But also i got a number of complaints, so lets try to fix mistakes before you actually make them.

  • It doesn’t caramelize! Before you start cooking, make sure that your cooking pan is actually a pan and not a pot. You need a large surface to let the liquid evaporate faster. If you will use a deep pot in this recipe, it will take forever for the sauce to get thick.
  • It smells too intense during cooking! This recipe calls for a fish sauce. Fish sauce is widely used in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine. It is made from fish or krill that has been salted and fermented for up to two years. This is why it smells pretty intense for some people. But fish sauce is recognized by its UMAMI flavor in dishes, and that exactly what we are looking for while making this caramelized sticky pork dish
  • WHY i use so much water. We need pork to not just be cooked through, but to be very tender. That is why i used 2 cups of water to let it cook well. Do not cover it with the lid, you need that water to evaporate and the sauce to thicken.
  • If your pork piece is too fatty, use less water because the pork will release lots of liquid itself. Stir it every once in a while while cooking.

All the sauces used in this recipe can be found in the Asian market or any grocery store at the Asian food section.

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Rice i used for this dish

I prefer basmati rice for most of my dishes. Big supermarkets sell it in huge bags for a good price. Last time i got the 50 lb bag of Indian basmati rice and we will probably eat it for the whole year.

When i have to store it in the summertime, i prefer dry cool places and an air tight container. It will prevent the rice from being contaminated with food moth. Fridge is also a great place to store rice, but not everyone will have that much in the refrigerator.

In winter we have no problems storing rice just in the pantry 🙂

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close shot of sticky pork pieces

Sweet caramelized pork with rice

Tatiana
Flavor explosion in your plate-try this sticky caramelized pork and you will enjoy every bite of it,i promise!
4.66 from 252 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Asian
Servings 4 people
Calories 343 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb pork butt or boneless ribs
  • 1/2 onion
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1-2 cups water UPDATE: start with 1 cup and than add more if needed
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tspn olive oil
  • cooked white rice
  • green onions for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Chop the onion and cut pork in small pieces. Heat olive oil in a large WIDE skillet and cook onions and pork for about 5 minutes until the meat is well browned.
  • To the same skillet add water, soy sauce, sugar and fish sauce, bring to a light boil and simmer for the next 30 minutes to 1 hour ( or until almost all the water will become a thick, brown caramel like sauce)
  • Stir it and serve your caramel pork over rice with some green onions for garnish

Notes

The nutrition information is calculated without rice
 

Nutrition

Calories: 343kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 43gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 136mgSodium: 408mgPotassium: 810mgSugar: 9gVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 46mgIron: 2.9mg
Keyword caramelized pork, sticky pork
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

4.66 from 252 votes (202 ratings without comment)
Recipe Rating




Dec

Friday 1st of August 2025

Very good! I should’ve read the extra notes about the fish smell cause it was very intense! I was already thinking about a plan B assuming it was gonna taste disgusting. After reading comments, I had the same issues with my sauce not thickening after 30 mins. But someone commented about turning it up to med/high heat and that was the trick! It caramalized real fast! Next time I’ll do somewhere around medium. Since it thickened so fast I ended up adding 2/3c of water towards the end to soften the hardened pieces. Finished with a great sweet thick sauce. The meat was tender and the fish smell was gone. Don’t give up if it didn’t go the way you hoped. It’s worth a 2nd try!

Stephanie

Wednesday 16th of July 2025

This was a huge hit with my family! So, so good. I made the recipe just as written, except I used a whole onion, and it only took 15 minutes for the sauce to thicken. I did velvet the pork ahead of time, which made it super tender.

Craig

Monday 5th of May 2025

Don’t know what you cooked but this recipe ain’t it! Simmered for an hour with 1 cup of water. I called it a day and thickened the sauce up with some cornstarch and water.

Cookie

Saturday 18th of January 2025

Can you do this in an air fryer? It seems like it would carmelize easily. Pork in general cooks awesomely in the air fryer. Recipe looks good! Next time I will put pork loin on the list.

Janet

Wednesday 20th of November 2024

Is it possible to put this in a crock pot?

Tatiana

Friday 22nd of November 2024

I don't think it will work in the crockpot