Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Belly

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork belly
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 5-6 lemongrass stalks
• cooking oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Slice pork belly into bite-sized pieces, about 1/2 inch thick (or up to 3/4 inch thick). Please refer to the video in the post to see how the pork belly pieces look.

2. 2

   Mix the pork with minced garlic, shallots, fish sauce, sugar and black pepper. Marinate at room temperature for 10-15 minutes (or up to 30 minutes).

3. 3

   Discard the fibrous outer layer and green part of lemongrass stalks. Slice the white and very light green part very thinly on a bias.

4. 4

   Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and add some cooking oil. Add lemongrass and sauté briefly until you start to smell the aroma.

5. 5

   Add pork belly to the pan. Keep stirring, toss and cook until the outside of the pork is no longer pink. Then stir and cook every few minutes for about 20-25 minutes until both the pork and lemongrass are golden brown and the pork tastes flavorful. Lower the heat near the end to avoid burning the lemongrass. Adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and sugar to taste.

6. 6

   Transfer to serving plates and serve hot with steamed rice.