284048 Fri Mar 24 02:56:53 -0800 2006 8 31 Home Cooking 0 1517716 Here's yet another use for pork shoulder if you're looking for something besides porchetta, pulled pork, or carnitas. Vietnamese cuisine has various preps for pork shoulder, and I decided to try a recipe from a new, basic Viet cookbook for braised pork w/ young coconut (lon kho nuoc dua). I've also seen it labeled as "thit heo" instead of "lon." See photo below and link to a few more photos. The cookbook is called Vietnamese Home Cooking and it's a collaboration by Robert Carmack, Didier Corlou, and Nguyen Thanh Van. Never heard of any of these people, but Corlou and Nguyen are chefs at the Sofitel Metropole in Hanoi. Lots of general info demystifying Viet cookery, photos aplenty, and good home-style dishes that aren't always available in US restaurants. Really like the book so far and highly recommend it for those who are intimidated by cooking Viet food at home. I never grew up w/ this exact pork dish, but my mom made something similar w/ spare ribs and eggs. This dish hails from the South. Note that this is made w/ unsweetened young coconut juice NOT coconut milk or cream. The kind of fresh juice that you buy from a yoke vendor as you wander the streets in Vietnam. Very refreshing... Overall, I was happy w/ how the dish turned out. The pork was decidedly porky, but had a salty-sweet angle from the fish sauce, coconut water, and sugar. Turned out wonderfully caramelized (and you know how I love that!). Pork was extremely soft and tender, and the hard-cooked egg added a homey-ness and further richness to the dish. The coconut juice seemed to evaporate during the long braising process, but its unique essence was there. Next time, I might add some chili during cooking, as well as lemongrass. Here's the recipe that I modified from the book: Braised Pork w/ Young Coconut (lon kho nuoc dua) Serves 6 1.5 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1" cubes 2 TB sugar 3-4 young coconuts or about 4 c. coconut water 2 TB canola or vegetable oil 1/4-1/2 c. fish sauce, to taste 6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled 1 fresh long red or green chili, seeded and thinly sliced coarsely chopped Chinese chives and green onions Sprinkle pork w/ sugar and refrigerate for 1 hr. Use cleaver to remove top of coconuts and drain water. If desired, scoop flesh from inside, cut into small dice, and reserve. In a medium pot or saute pan, heat oil over med. heat and brown pork on all sides. If meat begins to burn due to sugar, then add a little coconut water. Add fish sauce, remaining coconut water, and reserved flesh if using. Bring to boil and reduce to very low heat. Partially cover and gently simmer til pork is tender and liquid is reduced by half, about 2-2.5 hrs. Check every 30 min. to make sure liquid hasn't reduced too much. If so, you can add more coconut water, tap water, or chicken broth. Add hard-cooked eggs for last 30 min. of cooking. Garnish w/ chili, chives, and green onion before serving. I served w/ broken jasmine rice and sauteed pea shoots. A light Vietnamese soup or "canh" would be a nice digestive at end of meal. Link: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=o9rq95r.aht8yloj&Uy=1pe9y0&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0 Image: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/btdoan/IMG_4720.jpg Fri Mar 24 02:56:53 -0800 2006 0 Carb Lover 1 1517722 oh my stars that looks wonderful! if i can find the coconuts, i will try this! thanks for posting. Fri Mar 24 06:07:45 -0800 2006 1517716 0 hobokeg 2 1517894 Let me know what you think if you make it. I tried my best w/ proportions and descriptions, but it's hard to quantify home cooking in a recipe. If you're familiar w/ braising and Viet ingredients, then improvise as you see fit! Sat Mar 25 01:25:57 -0800 2006 1517722 0 Carb Lover 2 1518096 Corinne Trang, another vietnamese cookbook writer, has a recipe for this but she uses pork shanks. it's very good. Also, if people don't have access to coconuts or don't feel like opening them and catching the water, you can buy canned coconut water in many chinese grocery stores (especially in chinatowns) I don't mean the kind that's sold as a beverage, but the kind that would be on the shelf near the coconut milk. obviously, it won't be as good as fresh, but works fine for this dish. Kind of like the difference between freshly made coconut milk and canned. Sun Mar 26 23:28:22 -0800 2006 1517722 0 missmasala 3 1518161 Thanks for your input. I have Trang's cookbook, Authentic Vietnamese Cooking, and saw her recipe too. It did look good, but had slightly different ratios and included other ingredients like ginger, garlic, star anise, 5-spice powder. It read more Chinese-influenced to me than my recipe, plus I was out of star anise. Ack! That reminds me that I did use some ginger rounds and a couple garlic cloves in my version. Also think 1-2 star anise would have been great if I had some. Mon Mar 27 11:57:41 -0800 2006 1518096 0 Carb Lover 1 1517778 Heyt CL- I forgot to ask you, how much coconut water did you get from each one? Fri Mar 24 12:43:51 -0800 2006 1517716 0 Nathan P. 2 1517895 I would say about 1.25 cups/coconut. Didn't taste quite as pure and bright as what I drank in Vietnam, but was still very good. I'm sure the 95+ deg. weather and high humidity makes it taste better in Saigon though... Sat Mar 25 01:29:20 -0800 2006 1517778 0 Carb Lover 1 1517807 Hot damn, that looks good. I just finished off a giant chunk of braised shoulder - having it for lunch right this minute! - but this makes me want to run out and get some more. And those coconuts... Fri Mar 24 14:45:12 -0800 2006 1517716 0 Will Owen 1 1518030 Nice job! My mom's version has big chunks of bamboo and I am pretty sure a little lemongrass but my memory is faint. This is THE dish I miss the most of my mom's (if it's the same). Only one way to find out and that is to make it! Sun Mar 26 11:45:28 -0800 2006 1517716 0 CH Addict