Vietnamese-Style Cola Braised Pork Belly

This is a traditional Vietnamese home-style recipe but with a cola twist. It’s most similar to  Thịt Kho Tiêu, Pepper Braised Pork Belly and similar to Thịt Kho trứng, braised pork belly and eggs, but the pork is cut into much smaller pieces to reduce cooking time and instead of being served in the braising liquid, the liquid evaporates and turns into a sticky glaze that coats the pork. 

Most Vietnamese braised dishes use coconut juice, but I thought using cola would be a fun experiment. Not only does the cola tenderise the meat as it cooks but it creates a sticky and sweet glaze that balances with the black pepper. The glaze is also more salty, sweet and strong in flavour than Thịt Kho Trứng, so it needs to be served with rice and ideally 1-2 side dishes (a plate of greens, a Vietnamese canh or soup) to balance the flavour.

You can make this dish in under 30 minutes, so it’s great as a weeknight meal. It is traditionally cooked in a claypot but it’s not necessary as you can easily make this in any lidded pot or pan you have.

Serves- 2-3 people

Ingredients- 9

Cooking Time- 30 minutes

Skill Level- Easy

Ingredients

500g pork belly

4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 shallot or ¼ red onion, finely minced

1 tablespoon of fish sauce. I used the Three Crabs brand.

2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon white sugar

250ml of cola. I used Capi Cola

1-2 stalks of spring onion, finely sliced

1 red chilli, finely sliced

Method

1. Cut the pork belly into 3cm cubes. These will shrink to become smaller bite sized pieces. These smaller cuts make it faster to braise.

2. Place into a bowl and add in garlic, onion, fish sauce and black pepper. Mix to combine and allow to marinate for 5 minutes. 

3. Heat a pan on high and pour in the sugar. Heat for 1-2 minutes or until the sugar turns into a caramel. If there are areas that are browning faster, tilt the pan and swirl the mixture so that it mixes together and moves around the pan. As soon as the caramel turns a dark golden brown colour, turn down the heat to medium, add in the pork belly and quickly stir fry to coat the pork in the caramel. Turning down the heat helps prevent the caramel from burning further and turning acrid and bitter. Cook for another 2 minutes to render out the fat in the pork and cook the meat.

4. Pour in the cola and ensure the meat is submerged into the liquid. Bring to the boil, cover with the lid and allow to cook on medium low for 10 minutes.

5. Remove the lid and allow to cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the liquid has mostly evaporated and you're left with a sticky brown glaze. Taste the sauce. It should be salty, sweet and a bit peppery. I like to add another pinch of cracked black pepper, just before serving. Give the pork one more toss so it’s covered in the peppery glaze.

6. Transfer to a plate and top with spring onion and red chilli.

7. Serve with rice and some sliced cucumber. I also served it with a Vietnamese style soup with zucchini.

8. Enjoy.

Watch the Process