Servings: 8

Vietnamese dinners usually include a meat entree paired with a side of soup. Thit kho gung is one of my go-to meat entrees because it’s delicious, easy to prepare, and affordable. There are quite a few different pork cuts that can be used for this dish including spare ribs, side pork, pork butt, or pork shoulder. I like using pork shoulder because it has more meat than the spare ribs and it’s easy to find. I recommend buying the pork shoulder from Costco. For about $25, you have enough to make this dish three times.

Ingredients 
• 2 pounds pork (boneless pork shoulder)
• 3 tablespoons of sugar (1 for marinade, 2 for cooking)
• 1 tablespoon of chicken powder (asian kind)
• ½ tablespoon of salt 
• ½ tablespoon of black pepper
• 6 tablespoons of fish sauce (3 crab brand recommended) 
• 2 knobs of ginger (1 chopped into small pieces, 1 julienned)
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1 can of coco rico soda 
• 2 cups of water 
• ½ tablespoon of pepper (optional)

Clean meat 
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I used 6 quart)
• Add 1-2 lemons to the pot (cut lemon in half, squeeze all the juice in and add lemon to pot)
• Cut the pork should into smaller pieces (about 3-4 inches long)
• Add pork to pot of water once water is boiling 
• Parboil for about 15 minutes 
• Remove pork from pot and wash off with cold water 

Prep marinade 
• Slice pork into thin, bite-sized pieces
• Add 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Add 1 tablespoon of chicken powder (asian kind)
• Add ½ tablespoon of salt 
• Add ½ tablespoon of black pepper 
• Add chopped ginger (about 3 tablespoons)
• Mix everything together and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes 

Cook 
• Use a wok and heat it up with medium/high heat 
• Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil 
• Add 2 tablespoons of sugar to cooking oil (IMPORTANT: keep an eye on the sugar, it can burn very easily if you leave it for too long)
• Once the sugar melts and turns brown, add meat + marinade and stir to get the brown color on the meat 
• Add 1 can of coco rico soda 
• Add 2 cups of water 
• Let it cook for 20 minutes 
• Remove any of the scum that floats to the surface
• After 20 minutes, add in the julienned ginger and cook for another 5 minutes
• Optional: add extra black pepper (I added another ½ tablespoon)

Thit kho gung should be served with a bowl of jasmine rice. My favorite brand of jasmine rice is the Three Ladies Brand.

My name is My and I cook for my family of 4. Follow me on Instagram for more Vietnamese recipes: @myvietrecipes