Vietnamese Pork with Lemongrass & Chilli
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: January 31, 2020
Tender pork is stir-fried in the most intoxicating, fragrant South-East Asian sauce. This Vietnamese lemongrass pork delivers on all counts. It’s amazing just how much flavour it packs in.
This recipe brings together some of my most favourite flavours. Lemongrass is a thing of wonder - such a fantastic aroma and so versatile in the cuisines of South East Asia. From enhancing curries like my delicious Thai Yellow Curry with Minced Pork or the decadent and impossibly tasty Indonesian Beef Rendang and the absolute perfection that is Malaysian Curry Paksa with Prawns - lemongrass truly brings the essence of South East Asia to everything it touches.
This Vietnamese pork dish highlights lemongrass and adds a little chilli kick too. A super easy stir fry that's ready in minutes. So flavourful and so quick!
Why it works?
It's intensely flavourful - The flavours in this dish are bold, fragrant and super-charged. A well balanced combination of sweet, salt and spice. All while feeling light and fresh.
It's quick - being a stir-fry it's quick and easy. Ready in only 20 minutes.
Stuff You'll Need
We make two elements for this dish. The pork and the stir-fry sauce. Both are quick and easy to put together.
- Pork - I like to buy lean pork loin steaks and thinly cut them into thin slices. You can also buy pork stir-fry in many supermarkets where all the cutting has already been done for you. I like a lean cut because it's cooked quickly and stays juicy and tender.
- Stir-fry sauce - classic Vietnamese flavours are in order: lemongrass, garlic, chillies, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and white pepper.
Step by Step
Introductory sentence + process shots
- Step 1 - Make the stir fry sauce by adding all the stir-fry ingredients with a little water into a small food processor and blending until smooth. A bullet blender is ideal for this.
- Step 2 - Add the oil to a wok and heat until just smoking. Add the pork and stir fry for 30 seconds to char lightly. Pour in the stir fry sauce and stir for 2-3 minutes, it'll bubble furiously and reduce into a thicker consistency. That's it! All done.
I like to serve my stir fry on a bed of fluffy Jasmine or broken rice alongside a simple salad of tomato, cucumber and cilantro. This dish also works excellently over some cold, cooked vermicelli noodles.
Storage Suggestions
This dish is best eaten immediately, but leftovers will stay good in the fridge for 2-3 days (in an airtight container. You can also freeze leftovers for 2-3 months. Reheat gently and add 1/4 cup water if reheating in a microwave to keep everything from drying out.
Alternative uses
This stir-fry sauce also makes for a wonderful marinade for meat and seafood. For meat like pork chops, steaks and chicken. Just cover the meat and marinate in a plastic bag for 24 hours then cook on a hot grill or in the oven. For seafood, try marinating shrimp for 30 minutes then skewering and grilling on the BBQ grill for a few minutes each side. Alternatively, use as a pour over sauce for baked or streamed fish.
Ready to get cooking?
Now that you've seen just how simple this pork with lemongrass and chilli is to make at home yourself you can have the freshest, most fragrant flavour-bomb on the table in under half and hour.
And with a stir-fry sauce that can also double as a marinade, you can maximise its use and create all kinds of Vietnamese delights from one simple recipe.
More Vietnamese and South East Asian recipes
If you liked my lemongrass pork, I'm sure you'll love some more of my Vietnamese recipes, along with some more south East Asian flavours.
- Vietnamese Chicken Curry
- Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Chops (Thit Heo Nuong Xa)
- Vietnamese Bun Cha Vermicelli Salad
- Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly with Eggs – Thit Kho
- Burmese Chicken Curry
- Satay Chicken Curry
- Sambal Udang (Sambal Prawns)
- Malaysian Sambal Sauce
- Babi Pongteh (Malaysian Pork Stew)
- Ayam Serundeng (Chicken with Crispy Coconut)
- Laotian Nam Khao (Crispy Rice Salad)
- Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Salmon
- Pad Prik King
- Thai Crying Tiger Beef with Nam Jim Jaew Sauce
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Ingredients
- 18 oz pork loin steaks (500g) cut into thin slices
- 2 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil
- 1 lemongrass stalk (white part only, thinly sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2 Thai chillies (red or green - deseeded and sliced thinly)
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Add the lemongrass, garlic, chillies, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and white pepper to a small blender along with 3/4 cup water and blend until smooth.A bullet blender or handheld immersion blender are best for this task.
- Heat the oil in a wok until just smoking. Add the pork and stir fry for 1-2 minutes until lightly charred.
- Add the stir fry sauce and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes (the sauce will bubble furiously) until the pork is cooked and the sauce reduced and thickended.
- Remove from the heat and serve.
Notes
Storage Recommendations
- For optimal freshness, it is recommended to consume this dish immediately. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- If you plan to store them for a longer period, you can freeze them for 2-3 months. When reheating leftovers in a microwave, add 1/4 cup of water to prevent them from drying out.
Alternative Uses
In addition to being a delicious stir-fry sauce, this sauce can also serve as a fantastic marinade for meat and seafood.- For meat such as pork chops, steaks, and chicken, simply cover the meat with the sauce and marinate in a plastic bag for 24 hours, then cook on a hot grill or in the oven.
- For seafood, you can marinate shrimp in the sauce for 30 minutes, skewer them, and grill them on a BBQ grill for a few minutes on each side. Alternatively, you can use the sauce as a pour-over sauce for baked or steamed fish.
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