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!)
Simple and quick to make. Intense flavour. I used beef, will try with pork. Slightly reduced the sugar, and added finely chopped courgette and carrot as others have suggested. Totally agree it benefits from the raw tomato and cucumber on the side
Quick, easy and absolutely delicious, Definitely a new staple to be added on rotation.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I make it regularly, especially for church lunch where we bring something to share, and so many people have asked how to make it. Delicious every time and so easy too. I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could!!
We love this recipe, we make it all the time! Delicious and super easy to make.
Made this yesterday but with ground chicken since I rarely eat pork. It was delicious, HOWEVER, the fish sauce smell is terrible! It did not go away after cooking and I still smell it in my bowl I’m having for lunch right now. That alone almost made me quit. Not sure how to get rid of that smell. Lol!
Other than that and the ginger, it’s really great!!!
I’ve made this twice now and the end flavor is really good. We put it over rice and sometimes add beans to bulk it up. I will say a couple tweaks I made are cutting the onions and peppers way larger, and increasing the ginger. Also in my experience, it takes WAY longer than 6 minutes for the meat/veggies to caramelize. Maybe it’s cause we’re using a higher fat percentage meat, but it takes more like 30-45 minutes for me and that’s been the case both times. So I wouldn’t go into it expecting it to take 6 minutes. A good meal for sure despite the increased amount of time.
Very simple meal to make, with awesome flavours and results. We have made this countless times and always goes down well. We partner with rice and some Asian veges. Really yum!
Loved this, served with quick pickled veggies on the side. I’d like to add a touch more acid somewhere in the mix: maybe a bit of rice wine vinegar in the rice? But it was great: kids and husband all loved. Will be making again!
A banger as is always the case with Nagi’s recipes! For our tastes it just needed a tiny bit of acid. I added a few dashes of white vinegar at the end. Next time I’ll serve with some wedges of lime so people can customise zing as I’m sure not everyone would feel it needs it. There will definitely be a next time! Thank you Nagi 🙂
This recipe was fast and easy and very tasty with vermicelli noodles. Thank you!
I used 12 oz of gr.pork, 4T br. sugar and 2T fish sauce, otherwise as per recipe. Great recipe, clear instruction for caramelizing and delicious!
I’ve loved all your recipes I’ve made, but I found this one to be too sweet for my taste. I tried to cut down the sugar, but then it takes too long to caramelize resulting in dry meat. but the flavour with the sugar cut down is really good.
Flavour was great until the recipe refreshed and I did not notice it had reverted to 4 servings, so a trifle sweet. Something to watch.
I’m not a great cook but wanted to make up something with some pork I had on hand. It was great, my family loved it! It took me longer to get it carmalized but I stuck with it and it was delicious.
Made this on the fly since I had some frozen ground pork in the freezer. Had all the ingredients on hand and followed recipe exactly. Came out so delicious like I was developing the flavor for hours. Did not bother with rice but sad I didn’t have a bag of coleslaw to throw into the pan. Ended up just doing some carrots julienne to give it color and more flavor. A keeper!
Surprisingly simple steps for such a delicious meal. I made it for my 19 year old son and we both loved it. I had a lb of ground pork and didn’t know what to do with it. I did not have fish sauce so I substituted soy and will try the fish next time! Will definitely be adding it to our rotation! Thank you Nagi!
Thankyou for this, made it to top a vegetable stir fry. Added a sliced up fresh serrano pepper for some heat and enjoyed it immensely. Will be making this one again soon. Reduced the sugar and loved how it caramelized. Yummy
This was amazing!! I used pork, probably could’ve cut down the brown sugar as was a bit too sweet for me, but was a hit especially with friends who are gf.
I doubled the recipe (so 2 lb pork) and it took WAY longer to caramelize, probably 10-15 min. It may have also been because it wasn’t lean so a lot more juices in a very full frying pan, but once it did start to caramelize it was perfect. I’ll definitely be doing this again!
I have made this recipe a couple of times. It always tastes great and is very easy to follow along and quick to make. 10/10 would recommend and have recommended to friends
Made this last night for the first time and it came out perfectly. Had it with rice and sautéed shiitake and peppers. OMG. Was going to make one of my go to pork soup recipes but my wife had other ideas. Thanks, Nagi! Love your recipes in general