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
I almost didn’t make this once I read the reviews and was glad I went with my gut and made it. Mine turned out perfectly and was a family favorite! Unsure what happened to those who said theirs didn’t carmelize…it was like candy…delicious.
I added garlic and ginger. It needed a little more flavor for me.
I doubled recipe & used a pork butt roast. I only added 1 cup water as suggested & simmered for about 90 minutes. I had to use a TBSP of flour to thicken gravy. It tasted very good & I would make again. But next time not double brown sugar as it was to sweet, & use a slightly different cut of meat that’s not so fatty. I also added a Japanese barbecue sauce from Costco to give it more flavor! I’d load a picture but no where here for me to do it.
@DK, did you cook covered or uncovered?
This did not turn out well at all! Too much liquid, even with just one cup of water. I would suggest cooking the pork and onions together then making the "sauce" in a separate pan so that it thickens, then pouring it over the pork. I had to add gochujang, ketchup, garlic, ginger and even some cornstarch to thicken it up and give it some flavor...
@Bianca, I thought the same at first but I boosted up the heat and it caramelized perfectly. So so good
I’m going to add garlic and some fresh ginger.
What can I substitute for the fish sauce if I have some in my family that is allergic to fish?
This was good, but it took a whole hour and a half to caramelize. I ended up removing liquid and adding corn starch to speed up the process. I only did the 1 cup of water. I'll do less next time.
Can you use leftover pork loin with this if so would there be any changes to recipe?
@Mischelle,
@Mischelle,
If you want to use pork loin I would cook the sauce separately. Pork loin is too lean for the traditional Caramel Pork recipes. It will dry out. You can reheat your leftover pork loin in the sauce once it has thickened.
This was fantastic!!! Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
What can I substitute for fish sauce?