Caramel pork has a relatively sweet flavour and is best served with steamed jasmine rice or sticky rice and a sharp-flavoured dish like green papaya salad or pomelo salad. It will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and can be made in advance.
Ingredients
- vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- 3 oz (75 g) Asian shallots, thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 lb 2 oz (500 g) shoulder or leg of pork, cut into thin slices
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 4 tablespoons palm sugar (jaggery)
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
How to Make It
- Heat 5 cm (2 in) oil in a deep saucepan or wok over medium heat and deep-fry the shallots until they are golden brown. Be careful not to burn them. Remove them from the wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
- Drain the oil from the saucepan or wok, leaving 2 tablespoons in the pan. Stir-fry the garlic in the oil until light brown, add the pork and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and ground pepper and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, or until all the liquid has evaporated and the mixture forms a thick sticky sauce.
- Spoon onto a serving plate and sprinkle with the crisp shallots. Serve as required.
