Here’s a super fast pork stir fry made with ground pork infused with flavours from the streets of Vietnam. With just a handful of ingredients you probably already have, it’s sweet, salty, beautifully caramelised and absolutely irresistible. It’s the quick and easy version of Vietnamese Caramel Pork, a famous Vietnamese food speciality!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Vietnamese stir fry – Pork Mince recipe
Ground pork – which we call “mince” here in Australia – is extremely good value.
It’s also just about the least sexy protein I know. Don’t you think? A dry aged piece of New York strip is sexy. Quail is gourmet. Oysters are….well, we’ve all heard that oysters are an aphrodisiac, right? 😉
Mince is…well, it just isn’t fancy. And yet, it makes it into my shopping trolley every single week because it’s such good value and so versatile. Sure, there are the usual suspects you can make with mince. Bolognese, meatballs, burgers, Meatloaf, Shepherds Pie – to name a few of the more common ones.
But sometimes, it’s nice to do something a little different. Like this Vietnamese pork stir fry.
The crazy thing about this pork mince recipe is that the ingredients list is so short. Chili, garlic, ginger, sugar and fish sauce. That’s it. Seriously!
Can I make this pork stir fry with chicken or beef mince?
Yes! This is fabulous made with chicken, beef and turkey!
“This is a terrific ground pork recipe that tastes and sounds so exotic…. yet it’s so easy!”
The secret to this ground pork is the caramelisation. It is rare to see recipes made with ground meat that are cooked this way so the meat is caramelised.
But those golden brown bits you see – they are the crowning glory in this recipe that takes it from a rather unappetising pale brown-grey colour to a golden brown pile of deliciousness that you will want to eat with a spoon straight out of the skillet. (Go on – you deserve it – cook’s privileges!)
What you need
Short list – see? I didn’t exaggerate!!
Lemongrass is optional – it’s not a pantry staple and also it’s not an ingredient in traditional Vietnamese Caramel Pork. But lemongrass flavour is certainly at home in this dish!
How to make this Vietnamese pork mince stir fry
This pork mince stir fry comes together as quickly as any stir fry. Once you start cooking, you’ll be done in 6 minutes flat.
Authentic Vietnamese roots
I am not 1000% sure that this is strictly authentic Vietnamese but the combination of ingredients I use most certainly are and it is my replica of dishes I have tried at Vietnamese restaurants here in Australia. It is an adaptation of the marinade I use in my Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowl and essentially the quick version of Vietnamese Caramel Pork, a famous Vietnamese food speciality.
How to serve it
Serve this pork stir fry over rice and eat it with a spoon! This pork mince recipe doesn’t have a sauce, but you don’t need it because the flavour is intensified and the pork mince mixes all through the rice which flavour it.
To complete your meal, try these:
A fresh side salad like this Asian Slaw;
Add a side of cucumber and tomato wedges, pictured (very classic South East Asian way to add vegetables to a meal); or
Shredded lettuce, cucumber and carrots which makes it more like the classic Vietnamese Noodle Bowls.
Make my Vietnamese Chicken Salad but without the chicken for a fresh, slaw-like salad side.
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
PS For a healthy low carb option try Cauliflower Rice – 77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice.
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Get your Vietnamese fix!
Vietnamese Caramel Pork – and the Chicken version!
Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!
Browse all Vietnamese recipes
More quick pork mince recipes
San Choy Bow (Chinese Lettuce Cups)
Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette with Pork)
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Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil (I use peanut oil)
- 1/2 onion , finely diced (brown, white or yellow) (~1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp ginger , grated or minced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced (2 tsp paste)
- 1 birds eye or Thai chili , deseeded and finely chopped (Note 1)
- 1 lb / 500g ground pork (mince) (Note 2)
- 5 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
Serving:
- 1 green onion stem , finely sliced
- Rice
- Sliced red chilli, tomato, cucumber (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the pork mince and cook for 2 minutes or so until white all over, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
- Add the sugar and fish sauce. Stir, then leave it to cook without touching until all the juices cook out and the pork starts caramelised – about 2 minutes. Then stir it and leave it again, without stirring, for around 30 seconds to get more caramelisation. Repeat twice more until caramelised to your taste.
- Serve over rice or vermicelli noodles, garnished with sliced scallions/shallots. For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! I like to have chunks of plain cucumber and carrots on the side which is a classic way of making Vietnamese bowls.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published November 2015. Updated September 2019 with new writing, some new photos, brand new video and most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Dozer on the wrong side of the counter at the pet shop!!!
(PS yes you spy cat treats, buying a present for a friend!)
Nagi, I am so grateful for this amazing recipe! I have a very clingy baby and was so close to breaking and getting takeaway, but found this recipe and made the quickest dinner of my life. I had to sub fish sauce with soy sauce and added julienne carrots. So delicious, fresh, fast, just incredible and will be high on rotation for a while. Thank you!
Delish! I finely chopped some Vietnamese mint from the garden and stirred it through. Gave it an extra oomph.
I never comment, but this was a 2 thumbs up from my hard-to-please family!
So quick, so tasty, my daughter and I absolutely love this meal.
I’m eating a bowl of leftovers now — this has become a go-to in our home! I often throw in frozen shredded cabbage + carrots to add some veggies, and have subbed red pepper flakes several times, with spicy, delicious results.
I love the flavour, but how can I make it less spicy?
Left a comment and forgot to rate it! 5 stars!
Absolutely delicious! I made some tweaks. Less sugar. Subbed soy sauce for fish sauce and half a red capsicum for birds eye chilli. Turned out yum. Nagi, your recipes are always so versatile.
This is such a great recipe, and I love that there are many times (such as tonight) when I have chicken mince and don’t know what to do with it, but I have all these other ingredients in my pantry or fridge. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls – absolutely scrum=diddly-umptious! Thank you once again. Xx
I used this pork recipe as a topping to the Trader Joe’s Knife Cut Squiggly Noodles, topped it all with the Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion topping and it was a WINNER. Hit all the craving buttons.
I will continue to rate this recipe 10/10
My whole family loves it.
So quick and easy to pull together
I love to add lemongrass – visit your local Asian grocery for the frozen version where you can snap a piece off and add to the recipe to add another layer to an already yummy meal!
thanks vanessa, i will try this! i always use the fresh minced lemongrass in the little plastic bottle from the supermarket, but this sounds like it could be a good option!
Hi Bec
The frozen lemongrass lasts for ages and so much cheaper than than any supermarket minced lemongrass. Just break off what you need and put the rest in a ziplock bag.
I’ve been cooking this since Nagi first posted and it’s always been delicious
I hope it becomes the same for you, Bec ☺️
Love this recipe… I used chicken mince instead as I’m not a pork fan, and it turned out amazing!
Super easy and delicious. Winner with the whole family.
A very tasty dish .. but very sweet.
I will lessen the sugar by half next time .. but everyone liked it regardless.
My mince did not turn that caramelised colour as shown
Does anyone know why?
I think I’ve made this 20+ times, a favourite in our house! But it always, always takes way longer to caramelise for me than the recipe says. I assume just different stove & pans. Still delicious, but I do remember the first time wondering when it would caramelise. Persist, it’s worth it!
The first time I made it I didn’t cook it for long enough…it took way longer than I thought but 2as delicious.
Delicious but I made some adjustments to make it perfect for me. It was too sweet and oily the first time I made it so I adjusted the following:
2 tbsp of brown sugar instead of 5
1 tbsp sesame oil instead of 1.5 of cooking oil
It needs something crunchy and salty to balance the flavors. We used her idea of tomatoes and cucumbers but modified it. We diced the cucumbers, tomatoes and a chilli. We added lemon juice and salt and pepper, that became our garnish. I added some fresh cabbage and it was perfect.!
This recipe is in our family book now! It’s a staple.
Nagi, your recipes are always fantastic. Full of flavour with great instructions to get it right! Whenever I’m searching for a recipe, I always end up on one of your pages. Love it! Thanks Nagi
Thank you for this recipe! It’s so delicious ❤️
If using the lemongrass paste- how much is recommended?