Pork Belly with Sticky Rice

I am preparing some Vietnamese soul food dishes for my mother to enjoy when she visits me here next month. I said soul food because it is hard even try to translate the word precisely into English.  I believe that most of the Vietnamese dishes made the traditional way of cooking are not easy to please most Westerners’ tastes even though they are delicious. Almost all the dishes that I have introduced on my blog have been created in a fast form of fusion cuisine.  However, my mother at age 87 should not worry or be concerned about her waistline or only eat the dishes containing lean sources of protein. So, I am trying to replicate something that my mom used to make for me when I was a kid, "Thịt heo ram", which is very popular dish from Da Nang, one of the big cities in the central part of Vietnam. The method of making this dish is cooked almost like "thit heo hon”, a dish from Hue, only without using peanuts. I do not like to eat most meat, especially pork or beef, but I want to use some this time to share a little experience of making a true soul food of Vietnam, thus adding to the large volume of the recipes out there on the Internet.  I went through a few websites to verify what is in my memory about this recipe . This is the first time I have cooked this dish, but I also hope that this recipe results in a very simple dish that can become a daily dish in every families’ meals.

Ingredients:
1 lb. pork belly, washed and cut into ¼ inch thick slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 shallots, sliced
1 tbs sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs turmeric
1 tbs peanut oil
1 cup Coco Rico or coconut water
2 green onions, sliced
Sticky rice ingredients:
2 cups glutinous rice, washed and drained
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 ½ cups water

Directions:
In a bowl, combine half of the shallots and garlic, sugar, fish sauce, salt, soy sauce, and pepper, and then add pork. Mix well and marinate for a few hours or overnight.
In a heavy pan, add oil and remaining stir-fry shallots and garlic until fragrant. Remove the crispy shallots and garlic Add turmeric.

Turn the heat down and cook for a few minutes without burning the turmeric. Add pork belly and cook until the pork turns a brown color and the fat start releases into the pan.

Add coconut water and taste to season more with fish sauce or salt, if needed. Continue to cook until the coconut water is substantially reduced or the pork is tender.

 Add green onions and make a quick stir. Serve.

 

To make sticky rice:
Place all the rice ingredients in a rice cooker and press to start. With this recipe the rice is perfect to serve with “thit ram man”.