#7 🧧VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR I TRADITIONAL FOOD I THỊT KHO TÀU KHÔNG CẦN NƯỚC MẮM #vietnamstreetfood #vietnamculture #vietnamfood

Hi and welcome to Vietnam street food. Lunar's new year is coming soon. Today I will share with you one of the most traditional dishes that every Vietnamese family cooks for this special celebration. What makes this dish special is a very old recipe with no fish sauce which many Vietnamese might not even know about. I'm so excited to share with you. Let's get started. We'll need a kilo of pork belly, 5 to 6 shallots, 5 to 6 garlic cloves, 1 non-spicy chili, 30 grams rock sugar, 10 grams refined sugar, 10 grams chicken powder, 20 grams unrefined salt, and a liter of coconut juice. Let's prepare the pork. Cut the pork belly into 4 to 5 centimeter cubes. Keep in mind they will become smaller during long cooking process. Add 2 tablespoons of salt and wash the meat in hot water 2-3 times to remove any impurities. Drain and let it aside. Let's prepare the seasoning. Crush the rock sugar slightly and combine with the refined sugar. Use this mixture to marinate the meat, giving it a gentle massage. By doing this, the fat and skin of pork belly will become nicely translucent after cooking. Now, smash the shallots, garlic, and chili to release their oil and flavor. No need to smash them too small as we'll remove them after cooking. Crush the unrefined salt mixed with chicken powder and some glutamate. Now, mix all the seasonings together and marinate the meat with the mixture. For a natural caramel color, add 20 grams sugar to a small pot over medium-high heat until the sugar melts and forms a caramelized sauce. Be careful not to burn it. Then turn off the heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of water. Squirt the pot gently to make sure the caramel melts evenly. Add this sauce to marinated meat and mix well. Let it sit for at least an hour. After 1-2 hours of marinating, add the meat into a large pot. Don't forget to remove shallots, garlic, and chili that are stuck to the meat. Use a kitchen-aid bag for shallots, garlic, and chili as we want a clear broth at the end. Now heat up the pot over medium-high heat and start to braise the meat in the seasoning sauce. Braise for about 10 minutes until the sauce is well absorbed. Doing this makes the meat more flavor, gives it a beautiful golden color, and makes it firmer. Next, add the coconut juice and additional half liter of water to the pot. Don't forget the seasoning bag for a richer flavor. Bring the pot into a boil and skim off any foam on the surface. Simmer on low heat. Please do not close the lid completely. Instead, leave it half open or even better, cover the pot with banana leaf or simply baking paper. This prevents the meat on top getting dark and dry, while keeping the heat evenly distributed. Now let it simmer on low heat for about an hour. Boil 5-6 eggs, let them cool down, and remove the eggshells. After an hour of simmering, remove the seasoning bag. Taste just the seasoning as needed. The meat already looks tender and the broth has a wonderful aroma. Now add the eggs and let everything simmer for another half an hour. After a total of one and a half hours, the broth is clear and rich in flavor, the meat is tender, and the fat is beautifully translucent. Everything is beautifully caramelized. Now let me show you how to serve Vietnamese Thick Kho Tao. Our Thick Kho Tao is done. Let's try it. The meat is very tender. I love the combination of sand cabbage and Thick Kho Tao. It's just so good together. Some of you may not be a big fan of fat, but I really have to try this fat. Actually, it's not that fatty anymore. Now that is there. I hope you enjoyed today's video. If you want to learn more traditional Vietnamese New Year recipes, subscribe to the channel. I'll see you next video. Bye.