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!
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.
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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Sweet caramelized pork with rice
Ingredients
- 2 lb pork butt or boneless ribs
- ½ onion
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1-2 cups water UPDATE: start with 1 cup and than add more if needed
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon 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
Absolutely loved it with the pork, trying it with chicken tonight. Will let you know...
Thank you! Curious to know how will this recipe work with the chicken!
I never write reviews. That being said, I had to comment on this recipe. So, I just made this for dinner tonight. I cook, a lot. My family is used to me making new things, that always turn out delicious. My usual Asian dishes are mainstream flavor profiles. Enter sweet carmelized pork with rice...
First (spoiler alert) let me tell you that it turned out to be delicious. But I was skeptical. It seemed too simple. Then I started prepping. Maybe my pork butt was exceptionally fatty, but it took me quite a lot of time to trim and cut the pork up. So, I suggest that you get a good quality meat or leave extra time for prep. Second, I opened the fish sauce... and thought, “That can’t be right.” After I get it all working my husband came in and asked “WHAT is that smell??? Oh my gosh!” By this point I’m getting ready to order a pizza. This dish looks like dirty water with a skim of bubbling fat boiling on top, and the smell... yikes! But, I persevered. I searched through the reviews to see what people had said. Unanimously the reported great success. I kept checking and hoping. My son came down to see what the smell was all about. Nobody was very hopeful that this dinner was going to be edible. It was. Everyone loved it. So, if you’re like me, sitting there hoping that you didn’t just make a dud of a dinner, I’m here to tell you a few things:
It will stink, at first. Don’t judge it by that.
It will look wrong, until it doesn’t.
It will take longer than 30 minutes to carmalize.
It will come together.
Lol. Thank you for this comment! I'm literally in the middle of cooking this and wondering "why does it smell?!" "It doesn't look right at all!"
So glad to know I should keep going.
This recipe for me was a great start. It didn't come out as sticky as the picture but I am still letting it cook down as I type this. I didn't have fish sauce so I substituted hoisin sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I did have to double sugar and soy because it wasn't dark enough but maybe it needed dark brown sugar, I only had light. The flavor is great but I am having to cook mine way longer but that doesn't bother me. I dod add carrots to mine for my family because I have to sneak veggies in when I can. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Do u cook with it covered?
Hi Sara! Cook it uncovered please
BAHAHAH omg this is 100% me! I’m sitting here like, “there’s no way this is right....”. I shall persevere!
I currently have this dish on the stove and it smells so bad I had to go outside ?
It looks and smells like a putrid mess, but I’m hopeful it turns out as good as yours!
It’s 14 degrees out and my husband just opened all the windows. ? Thanks for your comment. We’re persevering....but chilly!
I am trying this tonight. I am excited and still curious how a recipe so simple can be so memorable? This should be a keeper! I love keepers!!! Thanks for sharing.
thank you very much!
I have to echo Melanie. The recipe seemed odd to me, but it comes together beautifully! The pork is amazingly tender and the sauce is soo good! Took mine closer to an hour to caramelize, but so worth the wait. The only thing I will add next time is some red pepper flakes for a touch of heat. There will definitely be a next time.
Thank you very much! A little bit of heat is always good idea 🙂
This sounds perfect! I love how it is paired with rice! Yum!
I have always loved Asian food. In fact, I prefer it as 1st choice over my own culture, but it is a close 2nd. Growing up a military brat i was exposed to alot of variety. And alot of foods out there are made with some pretty strange ingredients and methods of cooking. It's strange how the process of something can be so off putting yet the end result is polar opposite. Often times i end up cooking outside on my grill's gas burner or cook way ahead of time because of the smells. This was a tasty recipe and will be made often! Thanks!!
@C.cookies, Awesome idea! I have constant headaches with migraines thrown in the mix so lots smells turn my stomach. Another hint, get a "smoke eater" candle - they work great with some cooking smells if burnt near the stove. Can't wait to try this recipe out!
This looks so flavorful!
Perfect for an alternative to takeout.
Let me start out by saying I never review recipes. I usually just make them, file it away in my brain to make again if we like it or just forget about it. This is review worthy, especially since there aren't many reviews, I had to let others know how awesome this is.
Next, I was skeptical of this recipe. It's not the typical Asian recipe I would make. No garlic, rice wine vinegar, ginger, hoisin, sesame seed oil.... I mixed the sauce recipe and just stared. I thought there is no way this will produce anything noteworthy. I tasted it. I still wasn't sure, but knew it would reduce down. I was tempted to doctor it up but thought I would keep the recipe as is, knowing that if it was not good we had leftovers to eat. Spoiler alert, the leftovers were untouched.
All I browned my onions and pork, added the sauce and let it bubble away. That was nice, to just walk away basically. I would come back, stare at this unimpressive pork boiling in a light brown water, stir and walk away. It took longer than 30 minutes fit mine to reduce to my liking, probably 45 minutes. Then, it was magical. This tan water turned into the sticky sweet caramelized goodness that was promised. My pork turned from unappetizing white cubes to golden brown deliciousness. And the taste? Far from bland. The onions become part of the sauce and lend flavor. The fish sauce leaves the pork almost smoky somehow, and it has the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I fixed it with rice and sweet carrots. I'm so happy I found this recipe, and trusted it enough to try it, and leave the recipe alone, which if you knew me you would know exactly how difficult this is.
Will definitely file this away to fix again! Thank you!
Thank you SO MUCH for your kind words! Thank you for taking your time to write your amazing review, it means the world to me, Melanie!
If you don’t use the fish sauce
Will it still carmelize
Yes it will. Fish sauce is mostly for flavor
oh my goodness! I'm pinning this and I can't wait to try it!
Thank you, hope you will like it!
Love how easy this recipe is. I love Asian inspired recipes that are bursting with flavor!