How to Make Vietnamese Stir-fried Pork with Fermented Shrimp Paste
Stir-fried Pork with Fermented Shrimp Paste has a rich, savory flavor and a beautiful color that pairs perfectly with rice. It goes well with cucumber, sour starfruit, and green banana.
Ingredients
- 450g pork belly
- Fermented shrimp paste
- 5 lemongrass stalks
- 5-6 garlic cloves
- 3-4 shallots
- 1 piece of ginger
- 1-2 chili peppers
- Scallions
- Seasoning: Sugar, fish sauce, MSG, ground pepper, caramel sauce
Ingredient Notes
To make delicious stir-fried pork with shrimp paste, Cookbeo recommends using pork belly for its richness and moisture. Choose pieces of pork belly that are firm, with an even distribution of fat and meat. This ensures the pork slices look appealing and the dish turns out flavorful without being greasy.
Pork belly
Shrimp paste is made from small shrimp ("ruốc") and is commonly used in Vietnamese cuisine to add flavor to stir-fried dishes, braised dishes, and bún bò Huế. There are many varieties of shrimp paste depending on the region, such as from Huế, Đà Nẵng, or Southern Vietnam. In Cookbeo's opinion, Huế shrimp paste is the most flavorful, while Southern varieties tend to be sweeter.
Huế shrimp paste is currently sold at an average price of 80,000 VND per kilogram.
Shrimp paste is milder and more palatable than shrimp sauce, lacking the pungent smell of the latter. It is also different from fermented crab paste. While shrimp sauce is commonly used in bún đậu mắm tôm, fermented crab paste is famous for dishes like mắm tép chưng thịt (fermented crab paste with pork).
Instructions
Prepare the Pork
Rinse the pork belly with rock salt to clean and deodorize it, then wash and let it drain. Cut the pork into strips or small pieces, about 0.5 to 1 cm thick. This thickness helps the meat absorb the seasoning better and cook quickly.
After slicing, marinate the pork with the following ingredients for extra flavor before stir-frying:
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon MSG
- 1 tablespoon caramel sauce
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
You can buy caramel sauce or make it at home. Learn how to make caramel sauce here.
Prepare Other Ingredients
As mentioned, shrimp paste comes in many varieties with varying textures. Some are smooth, while others may contain bits of sediment. If the shrimp paste is smooth, you can use it directly. If not, dilute it with water and strain it to get the liquid portion.
For the ingredients to stir-fry with the pork and shrimp paste, finely chop the lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chili, and ginger. You can also use a food processor to finely mince these ingredients. Adding a bit of ginger helps neutralize the shrimp paste's strong odor and makes the dish feel more warming.
Wash and chop the scallions into small pieces.
Make Stir-fried Pork with Shrimp Paste
Stir-fry until the pork is cooked through and slightly crispy on the edges. Add 4 tablespoons of shrimp paste and season with sugar and possibly more caramel sauce. For this recipe, Cookbeo uses 1.5 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce.
The saltiness of shrimp paste can vary, so adjust the seasonings to suit your taste. Since shrimp paste is already salty, balance it with an appropriate amount of sugar and caramel sauce.
Continue stir-frying until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy. Add the remaining minced lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chili, and ginger. Stir and cook for another minute. Adding these ingredients at the end enhances the aroma and flavor of the dish.
Finally, sprinkle in some ground pepper and chopped scallions, stir briefly, and turn off the heat.
This stir-fried pork with shrimp paste is flavorful and pairs perfectly with rice. The shrimp paste is aromatic without any unpleasant fishy smell thanks to proper cooking. The dish has a beautiful brown color, and the pork pieces are firm with a glossy sheen.
