Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls

Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls

With the New Year coming up (dear God, where has the time gone?!), one of the most common New Years resolution is to save money by eating out less. Eating out is down right expensive. Think of the gas mileage to get to your restaurant and the gratuities that you have to add to an already high-price-per-serving meal. It all adds up and it adds up even quicker if you have a family to feed. Plus, when you eat out, you just don’t know what goes into your food. This is very important for those who have food allergies.

If one of your resolutions is to also eat out less, a great way to be successful at keeping it is be prepared by having food ready to go at home. I like to stock up my fridge every week and prep things in advance. To avoid the temptation of grabbing dinner at a restaurant or use takeout, I ensure my freezer is stocked with some type of ground meat (pork, beef, turkey, and chicken) for a quick and easy meal.

Ground meat marinates a lot quicker and cooks up a lot faster. For those who have kids or seniors to take care of, it’s great because ground meat requires very little chewing! In my recipe below, I replicated my traditional Vietnamese pork spare ribs recipe using ground pork. The recipe is a quick version of the traditional recipe. Instead of making my own cooking caramel sauce (nuoc mau), I simply use dark brown sugar. Instead of braising in coconut soda or juice, I use coconut oil for that aroma and flavor.

The ground pork is marinated with fish sauce, sugar, black pepper and of course, every Vietnamese home cooking secret, bouillon stock powder, then sauteed with onions and garlic over a hot skillet until caramelized. Serve the ground pork over a bowl of steamed rice with sliced vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes. What you end up is a delicious meal-in-a-bowl. Now, there are less temptations to eat out when you can have dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes.

Recipe below. Happy New Years!

Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls

Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls

Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Ground Pork

• 1 lb ground pork (may substitute with other ground meat such as chicken, turkey or beef)
• 1 tablespoon oil (coconut oil recommended)
• 1/2 yellow/white onion (dice; about 1/2 cup)
• 2 garlic cloves (mince)
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons chicken or mushroom bouillon powder
• 1 green onion (optional; slice thin)

Other Ingredients

• Steamed rice
• Sliced vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, kimchi, and/or other pickled vegetables)

Instructions

1. Using a large skillet, heat up vegetable oil on medium high.
2. Add diced onion and cook for 2 minutes. Then add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add ground pork. Cook the pork while breaking it up with a wooden spoon until all liquids are gone (about 3 minutes).
4. Add sugar, pepper, fish sauce and bouillon powder. Continue to stir and cook until pork is caramelized (about 3 more minutes).
5. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve with steamed rice and vegetables of your choice for a complete meal.

Quick & Easy Vietnamese Caramelized Ground Pork Rice Bowls