Not sure what to cook to make family meals more appealing? Roll up your sleeves and get into the kitchen right away with TasteVN to learn how to make 2 braised dishes that are incredibly simple, which you definitely shouldn’t miss, namely lemongrass lime pork belly and lemongrass chili braised pork!
1. Lemongrass lime pork belly
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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking time
30 minutes
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Difficulty level
Easy
Ingredients for Lemongrass lime pork belly For 2 people
Pork belly 300 gr Lemongrass 1 stalk Lime leaves 5 leaves Tomato 1 fruit Chili 1 fruit Bird’s eye chili 1 fruit Shallots 2 bulbs Lime juice 1 tablespoon Fish sauce 1 tablespoon Salt 1 teaspoon MSG 1 teaspoon
Ingredient image
How to cook Lemongrass lime pork belly
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Prepare the pork
After purchasing the pork, scrub it clean with coarse salt, rinse it with water, and then place it in a strainer to drain. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces.
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Prepare other ingredients
Peel and finely chop the shallots. Wash the lemongrass and cut it into thin slices.
Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds, and finely chop.
Crush the bird’s eye chili. Dice the bell pepper.
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Marinate the pork with spices
Add the cut pork belly to a bowl, marinate with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder. Use chopsticks to mix well and marinate the pork for 30 minutes to let the flavors soak in.
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Stir-fried tomatoes
Place a pan on the stove, add chopped shallots to the pan and sauté until fragrant. Then add finely chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir evenly.
Next, add sliced lemongrass, bird’s eye chili, bell pepper, and curry leaves to the pan, and stir over medium heat.
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Make braised pork belly
When the tomatoes in the pan start to dry out, add the marinated pork belly to the pan, season with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 cup of water, and stir well. Cover the pan and braise for about 5 – 10 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Tip:
While braising the meat, you should increase the heat and stir the meat continuously to create a thicker sauce and help the meat absorb the seasonings.
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Completion
After the water in the pan starts to evaporate, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, stir again, and then turn off the heat.
Pour the pork into a bowl. Garnish with a little lemongrass and sliced chili on top.
Tip:
Adding lemon juice helps the meat to be firm, retains its aroma, and creates a sour taste for the sauce.
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Final Product
The meat is fatty and aromatic, with a chewy texture from the fat and a bit of spiciness from the lemongrass and chilies. The meat sauce is sour and spicy. You can serve the pork belly with hot rice for a more complete meal.
2. Pork belly with lemongrass and chili
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Preparation
10 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Pork belly with lemongrass and chili Serves 2
Pork belly 600 gr Lemongrass 100 gr Garlic 15 gr Fish sauce 2 tablespoons Sugar 1 tablespoon Chili 30 gr
How to Prepare Braised Pork Belly with Lemongrass and Chili
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Prepare the pork
After purchasing the pork, scrub it clean with coarse salt, rinse it with water, then place it in a basket to drain.
Remove the skin, then cut it into small pieces about 1 – 2cm.
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Prepare other ingredients
Cut off the ends of the lemongrass, cut into small pieces and put them into the blender, blend until smooth, then pour into a bowl.
Cut the chili in half, remove the seeds and then slice into small rings. Then put the chili and garlic into the blender, continue blending until the garlic and chili are finely chopped.
Note: If you don’t have a blender, you can chop finely with a knife.
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Lightly fry the meat
Place a pan on the stove, add the pork belly to the pan, stir over high heat to release some of the fat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of salt to the pan and stir well.
Cook the pork over high heat until it firms up, turns golden, and the fat renders enough to cover the meat, then turn off the heat. Drain the excess pork fat.
Note: Do not use cooking oil when frying the pork belly; instead, use the fat from the meat for frying. This reduces excess oil and helps the fat of the meat to firm up more.
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Stir-fried Pork Belly with Lemongrass and Chili
Place a pan on the stove, add about 5 tablespoons of cooking oil into the pan, add all the minced lemongrass, stir continuously over medium heat until the lemongrass turns golden, then add garlic and chili to the pan, stir well and add 1/3 teaspoon of salt.
Finally, add all the pork belly into the pan, stir to let the lemongrass and chili infuse into the meat, then add 1.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and stir all the ingredients over high heat.
Tip:
Once the meat is cooked, tilt the pan to one side to let the oil drain down, then continue frying for another 5 minutes, turn off the heat to reduce the oil.
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Final Product
The meat is chewy and crispy. The seasoning is just right. You can serve it with hot rice and add some cucumber on the side. This is definitely a dish that goes well with rice.
How to choose delicious pork belly
- First, you must choose fresh meat. The color of good meat is bright pink, not too red and not too pale. Pork that is pale, has a greenish tinge, and has a foul smell is spoiled, so you shouldn’t choose this type of meat.
- Pork that is firm and has high elasticity is good meat. You can test it by pressing your finger into the meat; if it bounces back immediately, is not slimy, and does not leak water or juices, then it’s good.
- You should choose pork leg or belly that has both lean and fat to ensure your dish is neither dry nor overly greasy.
Tips for cleaning pork thoroughly, odor-free
- To completely eliminate the smell of pork, before cooking, briefly dip the piece of meat in boiling water for about 2 minutes, then take it out and rinse it with cold water.
- Another handy tip is to add a little white wine to the water when blanching the pork. The wine is very effective in removing foul odors.
See more:
So, 2 ways to cook pork belly with lemongrass and chili and with lemongrass and lime have been completed. Wish you success in making this dish!
*Refer to images and recipes from: 2 YouTube channels Delicious Food Every Day and Le Vanh Khuyen
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