Here’s a super fast pork stir fry made with pork mince (ground pork) infused with flavours from the streets of Vietnam. With just a handful of ingredients you probably already have, it’s sweet, salty, beautifully caramelised and absolutely irresistible. It’s the quick and easy version of Vietnamese Caramel Pork, a famous Vietnamese food speciality!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Vietnamese stir fry – Pork Mince recipe
Ground pork – which we call “mince” here in Australia – is extremely good value.
It’s also just about the least sexy protein I know. Don’t you think? A dry aged piece of New York strip is sexy. Quail is gourmet. Oysters are….well, we’ve all heard that oysters are an aphrodisiac, right? 😉
Mince is…well, it just isn’t fancy. And yet, it makes it into my shopping trolley every single week because it’s such good value and so versatile. Sure, there are the usual suspects you can make with mince. Bolognese, meatballs, burgers, Meatloaf, Shepherds Pie – to name a few of the more common ones.
But sometimes, it’s nice to do something a little different. Like this Vietnamese pork stir fry.
The crazy thing about this pork mince recipe is that the ingredients list is so short. Chili, garlic, ginger, sugar and fish sauce. That’s it. Seriously!
Can I make this pork stir fry with chicken or beef mince?
Yes! This is fabulous made with chicken, beef and turkey!
“This is a terrific ground pork recipe that tastes and sounds so exotic…. yet it’s so easy!”
The secret to this ground pork is the caramelisation. It is rare to see recipes made with ground meat that are cooked this way so the meat is caramelised.
But those golden brown bits you see – they are the crowning glory in this recipe that takes it from a rather unappetising pale brown-grey colour to a golden brown pile of deliciousness that you will want to eat with a spoon straight out of the skillet. (Go on – you deserve it – cook’s privileges!)
What you need
Short list – see? I didn’t exaggerate!!
Lemongrass is optional – it’s not a pantry staple and also it’s not an ingredient in traditional Vietnamese Caramel Pork. But lemongrass flavour is certainly at home in this dish!
How to make this Vietnamese pork mince stir fry
This pork mince stir fry comes together as quickly as any stir fry. Once you start cooking, you’ll be done in 6 minutes flat.
Authentic Vietnamese roots
I am not 1000% sure that this is strictly authentic Vietnamese but the combination of ingredients I use most certainly are and it is my replica of dishes I have tried at Vietnamese restaurants here in Australia. It is an adaptation of the marinade I use in my Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowl and essentially the quick version of Vietnamese Caramel Pork, a famous Vietnamese food speciality.
How to serve it
Serve this pork stir fry over rice and eat it with a spoon! This pork mince recipe doesn’t have a sauce, but you don’t need it because the flavour is intensified and the pork mince mixes all through the rice which flavour it.
To complete your meal, try these:
A fresh side salad like this Asian Slaw;
Add a side of cucumber and tomato wedges, pictured (very classic South East Asian way to add vegetables to a meal); or
Shredded lettuce, cucumber and carrots which makes it more like the classic Vietnamese Noodle Bowls.
Make my Vietnamese Chicken Salad but without the chicken for a fresh, slaw-like salad side.
Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x
PS For a healthy low carb option try Cauliflower Rice – 77% fewer calories and 87% less carbs than rice.
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Get your Vietnamese fix!
Vietnamese Caramel Pork – and the Chicken version!
Lemongrass Chicken – one of my favourite things to grill!
Browse all Vietnamese recipes
More quick pork mince recipes
San Choy Bow (Chinese Lettuce Cups)
Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette with Pork)
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Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp cooking oil (I use peanut oil)
- 1/2 onion , finely diced (brown, white or yellow) (~1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp ginger , grated or minced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced (2 tsp paste)
- 1 birds eye or Thai chili , deseeded and finely chopped (can omit, Note 1)
- 500g / 1 lb pork mince (ground pork) (Note 2)
- 5 tbsp (tightly packed brown sugar (don't skimp, else won't caramelise)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
Serving:
- 1 green onion stem , finely sliced
- Jasmine rice or other rice for serving
- Sliced red chilli, tomato, cucumber (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
- Sauté – Add the onion, ginger, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes.
- Cook pork – Add the pork mince and cook for 2 minutes or so until white all over, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon.
- Add sauce & caramelise – Add the sugar and fish sauce. Stir, then leave it to cook without touching until all the juices cook out and the pork starts caramelised – about 2 minutes. Then stir it and leave it again, without stirring, for around 30 seconds to get more caramelisation. Repeat twice more until caramelised to your taste.
- Serve over jasmine or other rice, or vermicelli noodles, garnished with sliced green onion. For a low carb, low cal option, try Cauliflower Rice! I like to have chunks of plain cucumber and carrots on the side which is a classic way of making Vietnamese bowls.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Originally published November 2015. Updated September 2019 with new writing, some new photos, brand new video and most importantly, new Life of Dozer section added!
Life of Dozer
Dozer on the wrong side of the counter at the pet shop!!!
(PS yes you spy cat treats, buying a present for a friend!)
Made this a couple of times now and it’s fabulous!
This may time we ran out of brown sugar so I used honey and a bit of white sugar…. Still worked well, just a bit of a guessing game for amounts.
On my regular list. 😊
My kids request this dish all the time! I have a huge cookbook collection but I keep finding myself going to Nagi’s cookbooks and website. What will I do with all of the extra shelf space?
I’m exactly the same! Always browsing the website and her 2 cookbooks when I have a million others on the shelves. They just don’t hit the spot!
I made this and thought it was delicious (no suprise) but I found it too dry on just rice. I think it would work well with Nagi’s ubiquitous peri-peri sauce or even that lemon yoghurt one.
Another great recipe. Perfect for a quick weeknight meal.
Thank you
Another great recipe.
Thank you
Great recipe! Trust the measurements of fish sauce and sugar. I made Vietnamese pickled radish/carrot to pair with this recipe. Also I added a fried egg on top for that extra something! Love this recipe and my family does too!
Thank you for your very easy tasty recipe! Now I know what to do with minced chicken and turkey 😊
Trying to eat low carb due to PCOS. This dish was always a favourite of mine at a local Vietnamese restaurant. I made it today with a sugar substitute ‘allulose’ that is sold at Woolies and behaves exactly like regular sugar and caramalises. It turned out fantastic and thought I’d post so others know you can make this dish with sugar substitutes if you need to be mindful of carbs consumption. Served it with cauliflower rice and fresh tomato and cucumber. An absolute winner and will go into my weekly meal rotation.
We made this recipe last night and I followed it to the letter. Whilst the flavour was absolutely amazing, it was quite dry and didn’t look anything like the photograph in the recipe book (which looks very moist). Any suggestions please, as I’d like to repeat it!
Absolutely hit taste wise – empty plates all round! Such a quick meal to make- a new go to!
I am making one new recipe every week for 2026, and this was the first one for the year! It was such a WINNER! My husband and I were thrilled with it – I wish I could give it 10 stars instead of 5. Thank you for sharing it,
Delicious, nutritious and quick! Fabulous flavour.
Absolutely delicious recipe! Would love any recommendations on a sauce I can add to in that won’t impact on the flavour!
Great last minute/pantry essentials recipe! Used beef as that’s what we had in the freezer and it turned out great with lots of crispy bits. I will say it was a little sweet for my taste so I’ll test reducing by even 1 tbsp next time. I think the chilli is a necessary add for flavour dimension personally too
Delicious! Thoroughly enjoyed dinner tonight. More chilli, less sugar next time but honestly it was amazing. Loved it
Delicious! Thoroughly enjoyed dinner tonight. More chilli, less sugar next time but honestly it was amazing. Loved it
Great recipe, this is the second time I have made it. I use slightly less brown sugar. Next time I need to cut up more tomatoes, they are fabulous with the pork!
Amazing as written, though I did add fresh chopped carrots for crunch. Everyone loved it. Another one to add to the regular rotation. So simple, but so much flavor. All about the caramelization. Thank you!
Adding carrots is a great idea!
Easy and very yummy. The fresh carrot and cucumber is needed to offset the sweetness. It needs a little more chilli which I’ll add next time. My family rated it a winner 😁
Perfectly easy and delicious, just making it again now… it is a regular in our home. Thanks again for another fabulous recipe.
This recipe looks just amazing! I was all set to copy it and I saw the fish sauce. Can you suggest a substitute as I’m allergic to seafood. I understand it won’t be the same flavour but what else would work with the caramelised pork?
Thanks
Love your Vietnamese Pork Bowl😊
We loved it. We ate with the Asian Salad with added tomato & cucumber.
Would maple syrup work instead of the brown sugar?
Flavour wise it will probably be similar, however it won’t have as much carmelisation and/or colour as the brown sugar provides the dark brown colour and the carmelisation. You can replace it with coconut sugar/rapadura sugar if you want.