Pork Belly with Caramel Fish Sauce Glaze — The Dish That Won First Place

Emma's cooking competition was Saturday. Regional level. Twelve teams from across the Houston area. My daughter competed and I was not there because she asked me not to be, again, and I respected her wishes, again, and it nearly killed me, again. I dropped her off at the school where the competition was held at 7 AM. She was carrying her knife roll (the Victorinox in a canvas roll with her name embroidered on it — Linh gave it to her for Christmas), a bag of ingredients, and the quiet determination of someone who's been practicing for two months. I sat in my truck in the parking lot for forty-five minutes before driving away. I'm not proud of this. But I'm honest about it. She called at 2 PM. She'd won. First place. Overall winner. Her pork belly with caramel fish sauce glaze, coconut rice, and pickled vegetables — the dish she'd developed, tested, refined, gotten Ma's feedback on, and made her own — beat eleven other teams. She was crying on the phone. Not sad crying — the overwhelmed kind, the kind where your body doesn't know what to do with that much feeling so it just leaks. I said, "I'm proud of you, baby girl." She said, "Dad, I won." I said, "I know. I heard. I'm proud of you." I drove to Ma's and told her. Ma said, "Of course she won. She put lime in the glaze." My mother is claiming credit for my daughter's cooking competition victory and she's not entirely wrong. I drove to Christine's — it was her week with the kids — and rang the doorbell. Christine opened the door. I said, "Emma won." Christine hugged me. In the driveway. The first hug between us in probably eight years. It lasted two seconds and it was genuine and it was about our daughter and nothing else. Emma came to the door behind Christine, holding her trophy — a small cooking pot on a wooden base — and I hugged her and held on longer than she wanted me to and she let me because sometimes even fourteen-year-olds know when their dad needs the hug more than they do. I didn't cook tonight. I drove to the Vietnamese market, bought a roast duck from the counter, and ate it in my truck in the parking lot, grinning like a lunatic, thinking: my daughter can cook. My daughter can really, really cook.

Emma let me share her recipe on one condition: I credit Ma for the lime. So here it is — the pork belly with caramel fish sauce glaze, coconut rice, and pickled vegetables that beat eleven teams at regionals. She’s been refining this dish for two months, and I’ve eaten more pork belly test batches than I can count, and every single one was worth it. This is her recipe, in her proportions, exactly as she made it on the day she won.

Pork Belly with Caramel Fish Sauce Glaze

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 15 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes | Servings: 4

For the Pork Belly

• 2 pounds skin-on pork belly
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

For the Caramel Fish Sauce Glaze

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For the Coconut Rice

• 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 1 cup coconut milk (full fat)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Quick Pickled Vegetables

• 1 cup daikon radish, julienned
• 1 cup carrots, julienned
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For Serving

• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Sliced fresno chiles or red jalapeño
• Lime wedges

Instructions

1. Pickle the vegetables. Whisk together rice vinegar, warm water, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Add julienned daikon and carrots, toss to coat, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. These can be made a day ahead.
2. Prepare the pork belly. Preheat oven to 325°F. Pat pork belly dry with paper towels and score the skin in a crosshatch pattern about 1/4 inch deep. Season all sides with salt and pepper.
3. Sear the pork belly. Heat oil in a large oven-safe skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the pork belly skin-side down for 4 to 5 minutes until the skin is golden and crisp. Flip and sear the bottom for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Braise. Place pork belly skin-side up on a rack set inside a roasting pan. Add 1/2 cup water to the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with foil and braise in the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes, until the meat is tender when pierced with a fork.
5. Make the caramel fish sauce glaze. While the pork braises, combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan gently — do not stir — and cook until the sugar turns a deep amber color, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully add fish sauce (it will bubble vigorously). Return to low heat and stir until smooth. Add lime juice, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
6. Cook the coconut rice. Combine rinsed rice, coconut milk, water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stir once, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
7. Glaze and finish the pork belly. Remove foil from the pork belly. Brush generously with the caramel fish sauce glaze. Increase oven temperature to 425°F and roast uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, brushing with additional glaze every 5 minutes, until the exterior is deeply caramelized and lacquered.
8. Slice and serve. Let the pork belly rest for 10 minutes, then slice into 1/2-inch pieces. Serve over coconut rice with pickled vegetables alongside. Drizzle remaining glaze over the pork, and garnish with cilantro, sliced chiles, and lime wedges.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 785 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 48g | Carbs: 62g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 1280mg