Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Caramel Pork and Eggs Recipe (2024)

Made this recipe last night and it came out GREAT! My only comment would be NOT to add the hard boiled eggs to the pan before serving - this is just going to overcook the eggs. If you want creamy, buttery yolks (and you do). Boil your eggs for 6 minutes, cool under cold water, peel and set aside until ready to serve. Also, definitely make the stir-fried greens (i used bok choy & broccoli rabe)

I made this pretty much according to the recipe. The only thing I changed was instead of coconut water I used coconut milk. It was good the first night and amazing the second night. I think the double cooking (basically warming it up the second night) made the sauce incredible. Overall, very, very good.

I’m chuckling at the idea of swapping coconut milk for coconut water. It’s fine if you want to do it, but it will turn this into a completely different dish, making it even richer than it already is with the pork and eggs. If you don’t have coconut water, I suggest swapping regular water, or slightly sweetened water. That’s more like what a Vietnamese cook would do, and closer to coconut water than coconut milk.

Piggybacking off of john’s comment, except I’m not chuckling. Seeing people used coconut milk makes my eyeballs hurt. Fine if that’s what you want but as he stated, a completely different dish. And actually my mom has always used coconut soda (such as coco rico brand) which further tenderizes the pork. And as someone else mentioned, the egg yolks are NOT meant to be soft and jammy… the egg should soak up the flavors of the sauce. In fact, your whites should be brown once you’re done cooking.

Very nice! Made this in an instant pot almost exactly as written, just a bit extra pork, and it came out great. Had to make a second batch of caramel sauce because the first ended up burnt/bitter (color is dependent on depth and not an absolute guide, so I recommend tasting to make sure it’s not burnt). Reduction step took a lot longer than 18min to get near a cup, and the estimated recipe time was a bit low overall.

This is a pretty accurate a Vietnamese version done up in a pressure cooker. You should only use a fatty portion of the pig since you need the fat to provide the richness you need as well as to prevent the pork from tasting dry and tough when it’s finished. Eggs do indeed go in early in the cooking since it’s not about the runny egg yolks but all about it cooking in the sauce and soaking up the flavor. As for coconut milk, I would not use it as it would add too much fat and unctuousness.

Here ya go: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021833-thit-heo-kho-trung-pork-and-eggs-in-caramel-sauce

Like other reviewers, I used coconut milk, but just one cup, and one cup of coconut water. I also did not cook the hard boiled eggs in for the amount of time called for as I did not want them overcooked. Cooked just enough to glaze. This is an outstanding recipe. Served over jasmine rice infused with lime and coconut and braised baby bok choy. I will make it again!

I noticed that a lot of other recipes suggest parboiling the pork belly beforehand. This one omits it. Can anyone chime in about what parboiling would do?

Absolutely delicious! Cooked eggs to a creamy yolk perfection and added 30min before done. I have set the eggs in ice water and were fully cooled before adding and they did not overcook and the white took on the flavor and color of the sauce. Sumptuous!

This was totally worth it! I served it with the NYT coconut rice recipe. It definitely took me a good hour and a half so it’s not a regular weeknight recipe. We got 3 servings out of it. I wish I had doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers! Would absolutely cook for company.Well worth it if you have time. And do the COCONUT RICE!

Took a REALLY long time to prep and cook (almost two hours for me) and for the lack of exciting flavor, not really worth it. I needed to get rid of some of my 7.5lbs of pork though and I’m glad to have tried this recipe.

Made this today after realizing we had a good three pounds of pork leg in need of a recipe.’Worked perfectly!Did with steamed broccoli and white rice, fabulous foils. Only observation // this recipe takes time and focus so don’t try to bust this out with friends a half hour out!

This was really excellent! I used a picnic cut pork shoulder, a fatty cut with skin on that is cheaper but IMHO a better cut than the Boston butt. Gotta say the skin—first crisped, then pressure cooked, and finally coated in the sauce—is just divine. The only changes I made were the following: I salted the pork before sauteing and added a 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce before reduction. Also adding to the chorus of pleading people to not add coconut milk to this.

I didn't reduce the liquid enough but it was still good

Good recipe. Making the caramel sauce takes longer than the recipe timing, at least for me. Next time I’ll add the eggs when I’m reducing the sauce.

I followed the recipe exactly but found it needed a little something more. I added lime juice (from one lime) and red pepper flakes. It was perfect! Served over rice (left the eggs off) with a sprinkle of cilantro. It was a huge hit.

The flavors here are pretty spot on, very similar to my Vietnamese grandmother’s version of the dish. She uses pork belly. I used pork shoulder because it was what I had. Still very good. I’ll try it with pork belly next time.

So tasty. I made the recipe as written, and 2 of us ate the entire thing, so, yeah - it was great. I was worried the sauce would be too bitter, but balanced with the pork and rice it was perfect. The pork didn't come out too dry, either. I kept the eggs at 7-minute boiled eggs, and only added the eggs to the sauce during the final 5 minutes to keep the creaminess. I just used plenty of sauce while eating them. This is going in my regular rotation.

I made the caramel sauce in a skillet and found that it took way longer than what was suggested for each of the steps. Like ten-fifteen minutes longer! The second time I made this I cheated and used Kecap Manis or Coconut caramel sauce in a bottle which cut the cooking time down a ton.

Double the recipe. You can will want more!

I would consider adding the eggs when reducing to really get the eggs soaking up the flavor. Would also add more meat as some have commented. Dish came out fantastic.

Piggybacking off of john’s comment, except I’m not chuckling. Seeing people used coconut milk makes my eyeballs hurt. Fine if that’s what you want but as he stated, a completely different dish. And actually my mom has always used coconut soda (such as coco rico brand) which further tenderizes the pork. And as someone else mentioned, the egg yolks are NOT meant to be soft and jammy… the egg should soak up the flavors of the sauce. In fact, your whites should be brown once you’re done cooking.