Caramelized Minced Pork
- 1/4 cup canola or other neutral oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork, roughly chopped to loosen
- 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons Caramel Sauce (page 316)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 scallions, green part only, chopped
- In a 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook gently, stirring, for about 4 minutes, or until fragrant and soft.
- Add the pork and use a large slotted spoon to stir, poke, and break it into small pieces.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes, or until the meat has lost most of its pink color.
- Add the fish sauce, caramel sauce, and sugar, increase the heat to medium-high, and continue cooking for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Stir the mixture frequently and spread it out so it fills the bottom of the pan, giving it plenty of space to cook evenly.
- If there are large pieces left, take time to mash them into smaller ones.
- During cooking, the pork will release its juices, start browning, render a little fat, and finally gently fry.
- It will sizzle and maybe pop.
- Halfway through, as the meat darkens, monitor it carefully, stirring rhythmically and constantly to prevent burning.
- During the last 2 to 4 minutes, the pan will get hotter and the pork will seem lighter and easier to stir around.
- As the cooking intensifies, the bottom of the skillet will darken with tiny dark brown bits.
- At this point, lower the heat to medium to steady the browning.
- Keep stirring to coax the meat into browning a bit more.
- When it is a beautiful reddish brown, it is done.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the scallions.
- Transfer to a serving dish or shallow bowl, leaving behind the excess fat.
- Let the meat sit for 5 minutes to darken and crisp upthe flavors will intensify, toobefore serving.
canola, yellow onion, ground pork, fish sauce, caramel sauce, sugar, scallions
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/caramelized-minced-pork-383043 (may not work)