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)
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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!)
Would it taste okay with korean handcut noodles?
I would think yes!!! N x
This is my go-to recipe for Vietnamese pork! I use it for ground pork or pork loin (cubed). It’s perfect for making noodle bowls or rice paper wraps. I definitely recommend trying this!
Thanks Dana! I am glad you liked it!! N x
This is as fake as viet food gets. I don’t know how it got the rating but thanks for wasting my pork. Definitely a foreigners abstract take on Asian food. So disappointed something so simple could be so wrong.
We tried this using Omnipork (plant based grounds) and it was SO good! Great use of a meat alternative, but still packed with the same amount of flavor and same texture to ground pork too! 10/10 would recommend both for any vegetarians!
Seriously, this is so good I had a hard time stopping. Is it in your cookbook? So easy, so quick, soooo good❣️
Made this tonight and it was awesome. I used swerve in place of brown sugar to keep it low carb with cauliflower rice…… Really delish!!
DELICIOUS! This was quick & easy and so flavorful! I served it with an Asian style coleslaw (Dole), and it was great. Thanks for sharing this recipe! It’s a keeper for us- and that’s saying something!
Hi, can you substitute a jalapeño and oyster sauce? I’m looking forward to making this! Thanks!
One of the most requested meals by my college-aged sons. I’ve made this with crumbled tempeh and coconut aminos, date paste instead of the brown sugar, and other variations to accommodate various dietary needs. So good. Always works. Thank you!
This is 5/5 food when everything comes together. Amazingly easy, I just followed the suggestions including the lemongrass and simmered that bad boy til it looked stupid good. Served on rice with fresh cilantro lovingly strewn about the plate. I took a break from this rich, incredible flavor bomb and wrote this review. Nom.
So delicious and so easy to make! Totally fabulous! Thank you!!!
So delicious and so easy to make! Totally fabulous! Thank you!!!
What a delicious, easy meal. Served with a side of rice, lettuce and grated carrot and topped with mint and chilli… doesn’t get much yummier than that in a flash. Nagi, as always, my go to.😍
just a side comment. Does Dozer work at the pet store We have been trying to get our labs to get a job and they have no shame about lazing around the house all day.
How much lemongrass paste do you add?
I combined this recipe with tow of your other recipes and made the yummiest fried rice ever…….! Emergency Dump Fried Rice + Regular Fried Rice + This one =. Oh so Good!!!!!
So quick and so delicious. I added a squeeze of lime and fresh coriander and mint with the garnishes at the end to enhance the Vietnamese flavours. So so yummy!
I make this recipe in large quantities so we can have it multiple days in a row. I can’t handle as much heat as my husband so I use Serrano peppers instead of Thai chilies and add crushed red pepper. I’m too wimpy, but I literally just made it for probably the 30th time tonight!
It’s a keeper for sure! N x
This is absolutely delicious, truly my favorite meal now.
No words, just drool 😋
😃 N x