Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly Pasta

This Vietnamese caramelized pork belly and spaghetti situation happened right before we moved house.

(Ten years ago when I first wrote this post) I was cleaning out the freezer and found a sad frozen package of on sale pork belly that I stashed away for a rainy day. We were moving and all of our stuff was packed up, except for some dry pasta and the freezer. After a couple of minutes of me staring blankly into the freezer, it came to me: Vietnamese caramelized pork belly!

That was obvious choice; not so obvious was tossing it with spaghetti, but after after my first few wordless bites, I started OMG-ing. Seriously, seriously good. Sweet and savory chunks of caramelized pork belly, as much black pepper as you can stand, al dente spaghetti and you’ve got yourself a super comforting bowl of deliciousness.

Pork belly

Pork belly: without a doubt, it’s a love it or hate it thing and I’m defiantly on the love it side. I have lots of friends that won’t touch the stuff. They think it’s incredibly unhealthy because of all the layers of fat. I get where they’re coming from, but pork belly (when it’s done right) is SO delicious.

They sell pork belly in a variety of ways – I found the belly I used here at Whole Foods for a super reasonable price (less than $4!). The belly I bought was in about 1/4 inch slices, which I then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Try to find belly with a reasonable meat to fat ratio.

Pork belly pasta

If you do have some picky eaters on your hands and want to expose them to the deliciousness of both pork belly and Vietnamese flavors, you have got to give this Vietnamese caramelized pork belly pasta a go. If you haven’t used fish sauce before, don’t worry, it’s not actually that fishy tasting. Think of it as a boosted up, crazy umami packed soy sauce flavor. It’s super flavorful and surprisingly perfect with pasta.

Fish sauce

Is there anyone these days who doesn’t know (and love) fish sauce? But, for this dish, make sure the fish sauce you’re using is transparent. There’s a fermented kind of fish sauce that is an opaque brown and it’s quite a bit different than the fish sauce we non-Vietnamese peeps are used to. Click here to read more about fish sauce. If you are in the market for a new one, this is our favorite one.

The best pasta

If you don’t already have a favorite brand of pasta, check out bronze extruded pasta. You can tell when the surface of the pasta looks sandier. The rougher surface picks up sauces better than the more inexpensive smooth pasta. Best of all, although it’s “expensive” vs “inexpensive”, the price difference is usually a dollar or two. Our current favorite brands are pastificio di martino and rustichella d’abruzzo. But any pasta cut with a bronze die is going to be great.

xoxo steph

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly Pasta

A super comforting bowl of deliciousness

Serves 4

5 from 38 votes

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 lb pork belly cubed
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 shallot sliced
• 1/2 onion sliced
• freshly ground black pepper
• 8-12 oz spaghetti bronze extruded preferred

Instructions

• In a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan, add the sugar and melt over medium to medium high heat. Don’t stir, just let the sugar melt and turn a deep caramel brown color, 3-5 minutes.
  
• Add the pork belly, stir and cook until lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes.
  
• Stir in the the water, fish sauce, onions and shallots. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat until the liquid is at a simmer.
  
• Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender and the sauce reduces greatly, about 20-30 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water up to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package time. When done, drain and do not rinse. Add the pasta directly into the pan and toss to coat.
  
• Taste and season with plenty of black pepper. Enjoy immediately!
  

Notes

Different fish sauces have different saltiness levels. If you’re not familiar with your bottle, start with 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce and season to taste.

Estimated Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 765 Calories from Fat 176

% Daily Value*

Fat 19.5g30%

Saturated Fat 7g44%

Cholesterol 102mg34%

Sodium 782mg34%

Potassium 849mg24%

Carbohydrates 93.4g31%

Fiber 3.8g16%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 50.4g101%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.