Here’s a super fast pork stir fry made with pork mince (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 (can omit, Note 1)
- 500g / 1 lb pork mince (ground pork) (Note 2)
- 5 tbsp (tightly packed brown sugar (don't skimp, else won't caramelise)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
Serving:
- 1 green onion stem , finely sliced
- Jasmine rice or other rice for serving
- Sliced red chilli, tomato, cucumber (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Sauté – Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
- Cook pork – Add the pork mince and cook for 2 minutes or so until white all over, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
- Add sauce & caramelise – 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 jasmine or other rice, or vermicelli noodles, garnished with sliced green onion. 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!)
We love this recipe. It’s in high rotation at our house ❤️
O.m.g. this was fabulous! I didn’t think i’d like it more than the firecracker beef, but this surpassed my expectations! So easy and soooo good!
Eating this now. Very, very good. I was nervous about the sugar. I used a Tesco Thai herb pack containing fresh lemongrass, lime leaves, garlic, coriander and ginger and chopped it all finely. Served it with steamed jasmine rice, cucumber, tomatoes, chilli and carrots and wedges of lime to squeeze over. Fresh mint would have been so good too. Will make again and again!
Thank you
Um I’ve been making this for ages and only just found the lemongrass in the notes…. What have I missed?
It honestly doesn’t matter but just interested.
This is my ‘can’t be stuffed cooking’ recipe!
I absolutely love this recipe. It’s a favourite of mine and I make it often…. not often enough!
The complaints about the sweetness baffles me and it’s an unfair criticism. It contains 5 tablespoons of sugar. Did they not see that?
This is probably one of my favorite foods on the planet! I could eat this 3 times a week and I hate repeating meals. I always double the recipe.
For the folks saying it’s too dry and too sweet; it’s not supposed to be a standard stir-fry, it’s supposed to be dry (not saucy) and sweet. THAT being said, I’ve found that it really needs some acid to set it off, so I always serve it with halved limes for people to squeeze over top and that absolutely makes it. (I also like to serve it with cilantro if I have any.) I also serve it with sambal oelek on the side for folks who want it a bit more spicy.
It tastes good with a coconut flavor, but coconut milk/cream makes it too watery and the meat is overcooked by the time it’s cooked down so that doesn’t work. HOWEVER if you can find coconut milk/cream POWDER at your local Asian grocer, you can use that to add in the flavor. (Another option would be to make coconut rice.)
If you’re a little shy about the fish sauce, it’s not nearly as strong in the finished dish, but you can also half it for a lighter flavor.
And if you’d like to make your life a bit easier, you can totally use jarred or frozen garlic, ginger, or both. It’s not QUITE as good, but does make things easier. (I often use “gigi paste,” the ginger garlic paste that many Indian dishes start with.)
In all seriousness, thank you, Nagi, for this recipe. I found it during early quarantine (after making the regular caramelized pork bowls a few times) and it always makes my day better. 🙂
P.S. We <3 Dozer too! If it's not too much trouble, give him some pets from us, please!
This is not a great recipe. Way, way to sweet. I followed the recipe exactly. Saved it by adding sauteed peas and peppers with lots of soy sauce and schiraca.
This is way too sweet for the Canadian palette. I had to embelish it with loads of vegetables (snap peas & yellow peppers) and Sriracha. I would not make it again.
I followed this recipe exactly and definitely used the correct amount of brown sugar, even a bit extra but the result was dry, not caramelised and too sweet. Horrible. Disappointing.
Definitely went with what I had on hand — garlic chili paste for the garlic and chilis, a pantry-forgotten tamarind sauce I used instead of brown sugar, and some added chili crunch. Delicious! Loved the caramelized bits as well as the non-caramelized. Will definitely make again (with the rest of that poor tamarind sauce!)
I LOVE all Nagi’s recipes. And tried most of them! Tonight we tried the Vietnamese Caramel Pork Mince with rice. And this is the first time I’m really disappointed. A good word would be: revolting! So sweet, dry, horrible. And I’m a very experienced cook. Never again.
I love Vietnamese food and this is not even close to it. Just a huge sugar shock.
This is a great, simple, tasty recipe. Easy to whip up mid week. I’ll perfect it next time by taking any excess liquid from the meat before adding the sugar and fish sauce as it didn’t caramelise well.
Having felt very under the weather today, I wanted something easy to make with what I had. Which was just pork mince and the seasonings.
It was so quick and easy, yet so full of flavour with the deep caramalisation.
Served with the lettuce, cucumber and tomato as suggested.
Simple and quick to make. Intense flavour. I used beef, will try with pork. Slightly reduced the sugar, and added finely chopped courgette and carrot as others have suggested. Totally agree it benefits from the raw tomato and cucumber on the side
We love this recipe, we make it all the time! Delicious and super easy to make.
Surprisingly simple steps for such a delicious meal. I made it for my 19 year old son and we both loved it. I had a lb of ground pork and didn’t know what to do with it. I did not have fish sauce so I substituted soy and will try the fish next time! Will definitely be adding it to our rotation! Thank you Nagi!
Thankyou for this, made it to top a vegetable stir fry. Added a sliced up fresh serrano pepper for some heat and enjoyed it immensely. Will be making this one again soon. Reduced the sugar and loved how it caramelized. Yummy
This was amazing!! I used pork, probably could’ve cut down the brown sugar as was a bit too sweet for me, but was a hit especially with friends who are gf.
I doubled the recipe (so 2 lb pork) and it took WAY longer to caramelize, probably 10-15 min. It may have also been because it wasn’t lean so a lot more juices in a very full frying pan, but once it did start to caramelize it was perfect. I’ll definitely be doing this again!
I have made this recipe a couple of times. It always tastes great and is very easy to follow along and quick to make. 10/10 would recommend and have recommended to friends
Made this last night for the first time and it came out perfectly. Had it with rice and sautéed shiitake and peppers. OMG. Was going to make one of my go to pork soup recipes but my wife had other ideas. Thanks, Nagi! Love your recipes in general