Vietnamese Carmelized Pork Belly & Prawns- Tom Ram Thit Ba Chi” Recipe
Tom Ram Thit Ba Chi- This was one of my mom’s personal favorites which is also known as Vietnamese caramelized pork belly and prawns.
The secret to the dynamic flavor of pork and shrimp is buying fresh or frozen pawns (uncooked) and keeping on the head and shell for that super rich caramelized crunch with little bursts of umami shrimp yumminess! I love eating the shells but you can totally peel these prior to chomping down on these prawns!
While mom and dad both disagree on when to add the fish sauce, my mom prefers adding it to the end. If you like a more fishy or country way of cooking this you can marinate the meat and prawns in the fish sauce marinade like I did below. However, if you want these to stay savory and light don’t marinate the prawns with fish sauce-instead at it at the very end (like the last 1 minute of cooking).
Typically this is served with a side of steaming hot jasmine rice and fermented mustard greens, Dua Chua (see recipe -here-)
*Tip: Marinate your shrimps overnight, this will help infuse the prawns with more flavor from inside out, as an added benefit it’ll surprisingly help keep the moisture in as well! The pork can be marinaded the day of cooking (no need to marinate overnight).
*To thinly cut the pork belly, I like to freeze the meat overnight and thaw it out in the refrigerator. Once it’s just thawed a little enough to cut, you can cut super thin slices of pork belly. Otherwise it may be hard to cut thin slices with the soft pork belly.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb thinly sliced skin on pork belly, 1 inch wide by 1/4” to 1/2” thick
1/2 lb of prawns (skin on, uncooked, snip head tail and legs off, use a toothpick to devein the prawn by peircing between the back shell of the prawns, and scooping/pulling out the intestinal tract)
Shrimp Marinade:
1/2 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs garlic (minced)
1 tbs lemongrass (minced)
1/2 tsp salt
Pork Marinade:
1 tbs fish sauce
1/2 tbs sweet soy sauce
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs garlic (minced)
1 tbs lemongrass (minced)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs light virgin olive oil
1 small/medium shallot, minced
1/2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs lemongrass minced
1/2 tbs dark soy sauce
2-4 tbs water
Dash of fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
3 bunches of green onions / scallions
Cilantro for garnish (you only need a few strands)
FERMENTED MUSTARD GREENS, “DUA CHUA”
Dua Chua recipe -here-
PREPARATION
1. Rinse prawns under cold water/de-vein and snip tiny legs between the head and tail. Marinate prawns in a medium bowl with 1/2 tbs fish sauce, 1/2 tbs dark soy sauce, 1 tbs sugar, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tbs garlic, 1 tbs lemongrass, 1/2 tsp salt. Toss lightly in marinade with hands and mix around. Marinate preferably overnight.
2. Marinate in a separate bowl: pork with 1 tbs fish sauce, 1/2 tbs sweet soy sauce, 1 tbs sugar, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tbs garlic, 1 tbs lemongrass, 1/2 tsp salt. Massage with hands and mix around. Marinate for about 20 min at room temp.
3. In large cast iron skillet or wok on med-high heat, add oil, minced shallots, garlic, and lemongrass until fragrant.
4. Add pork belly leave to sear for about 2 min before shaking or tossing pork belly around (stir occasionally, a couple minutes at a time so that it can caramaelize). Add 1/2 tbs dark soy sauce, chili flakes, and stir occasionally until brown, lower heat if any burning or smoking begins. If you see that your pan is dry add a tablespoon of water at a time scraping the bottom.
5. Add the prawns at the end, set heat to high and cook until shrimp has changed color. Do not overcook these or they will turn out dry.
6. Then add spring onions (and fish sauce if you reserved this for last) and toss for a minute.
7. Add extra fish sauce and/or sugar by taste if needed.
Finish with some fresh cracked pepper and a couple sprigs of cilantro.
Serve with a side of hot jasmine rice, and a side of pickled mustard greens.