Braised Pork Cheeks in Caramel with Carrots and Lotus Root

Name: Braised Pork Cheeks in Caramel with Carrots and Lotus Root
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 6 cups veal stock, or equal parts chicken stock and D’Artagnan demi-glace (see Resources); 6 cups veal stock, or equal parts chicken stock and D’Artagnan demi-glace (see Resources); 1 large stalk lemongrass, pounded; 3 tablespoons fish sauce; 2 shallots, sliced; 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped; ½ stalk lemongrass, pounded and cut into 1-inch lengths; 1½ cups carrot juice; 1 teaspoon salt; 6 cloves garlic, smashed; ½ teaspoon salt; 3 pounds cleaned pork cheeks; 1 tablespoon neutral-flavored vegetable oil; Black pepper to taste; 6 cups veal stock, or equal parts chicken stock and D’Artagnan demi-glace (see Resources); ½ cup sugar; 20 baby carrots, peeled; 2 cups rice wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns; 2 tablespoons lotus rootlets in brine, cut into rounds; Salt and black pepper to taste; Salt and black pepper to taste; 1 teaspoon fish sauce; ½ cup neutral-flavored vegetable oil; ¼ cup water; 2 sections lotus root; 1½ teaspoons salt; ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Cooking without Borders

By Anita Lo

Published 2011

About

My first job as executive chef was in the early ’90s at a little French-Vietnamese restaurant called Can on West Broadway in SoHo. Although I didn’t know much about Vietnamese cuisine, it wasn’t for lack of eating it, and this job seemed right up my alley. One of the items I fell in love with was something my wok cook made for staff meal: pork in caramel sauce. It was a clay-pot preparation redolent of lemongrass and fish sauce, sweetened with dark caramel, and cooked long and slow with fat

Ingredients

Asia
Vietnam
Main course

Ingredients

Method