Instant Pot Vietnamese Pork Stew.
Our Instant Pot Vietnamese Pork Stew is pilfered from the excellent Nom Nom Paleo blog. We’ve made her substitution of pork shoulder for pork belly but added caramelized sugar, which is definitely a paleo no-no though essential to the traditional flavor of the dish. Makes around 8 servings.
Method:
¼ cup thinly sliced shallots or red onion
1 dozen dried shiitake mushrooms or ¼ pound fresh
2 T grated ginger
1 t black pepper
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 T white sugar
1 cup coconut water*
¼ c fish sauce (we use Red Boat)
3 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch slices on the bias
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves (for garnish)
3 scallions, thinly sliced (for garnish)
Method: combine the pork with the shallots/red onion, garlic, ginger and black pepper and allow the ingredients to macerate for at least 1 hour. Heat the Instant Pot on Sauté setting and add the sugar. Once it starts to melt, stir constantly with a spatula. It will very quickly begin to color and will then start to smoke. Immediately pour in the coconut water to stop the caramelization process before the sugar burns. Add the marinated pork and fish sauce and cook 40 minutes under high pressure with natural release.
Transfer the now-very-tender pork pieces to a bowl and add carrots to the cooking liquid. Cook under high pressure for 2 minutes with manual release. (Use a long spoon or other utensil to release pressure so you don’t burn yourself.) Combine pork, carrots and cooking liquid and serve with garnish of cilantro, scallions and jalapeño for diners to add as they like.
Note: this dish traditionally includes hard boiled eggs. If that appeals to you, add 4 peeled hard boiled eggs at the same time as the carrots. Cut in half before serving.
*We were surprised to discover that almost all canned coconut water contains a small amount of sugar. Not a concern since we’re adding sugar anyway, but it might be worth the trouble to seek out pure coconut water from a fresh coconut, from the liquid that separates in a can of coconut cream, or the health food brands recommended in the Nom Nom Paleo recipe.
