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Pork belly: without a doubt, it’s a love it or hate it thing and I’m defiantly on the love it side. I have lots of friends that won’t touch the stuff. They think it’s incredibly unhealthy because of all the layers of fat. I get where they’re coming from, but pork belly (when it’s done right) is SO delicious. The people who don’t like belly are the people who don’t like bacon and to me, no bacon equals no life.

Bacon was and still is a must eat for me but pork belly is something I grew to love. Growing up, my mom used to make pork belly but I wouldn’t touch it. It’s not like it was some sort of weird cut of meat that grossed me out, it was just that when I was a kid I was the pickiest eater in all the land and I basically wouldn’t eat meat aside from plain chicken breast.

I was such a brat. The good news is that I pretty much eat everything now. So parents, don’t despair, your picky eaters can and probably will grow up to eat more than just chicken strips and fries (still one of my favorite meals!)

If you do have some picky eaters on your hands and want to expose them to the deliciousness of both pork belly and Vietnamese flavors, you have got to give this Vietnamese caramelized pork belly pasta a go. If you haven’t used fish sauce before, don’t worry, it’s not actually that fishy tasting. Think of it as a boosted up, crazy umami packed soy sauce flavor. It’s super flavorful and surprisingly perfect with pasta.

Usually when I make caramelized pork, Mike and I have it with rice, but this pork belly and spaghetti situation happened right before we moved house – I was cleaning out the freezer and found a sad package of on sale pork belly that I stashed away for a rainy day. After a couple of minutes of me staring blankly into the freezer, it came to me: Vietnamese caramelized belly!

That was obvious choice; not so obvious was tossing it with spaghetti, but after after my first few wordless bites, I started OMG-ing. Seriously, seriously good. Sweet and savory chunks of caramelized pork belly, as much black pepper as you can stand, al dente spaghetti and you’ve got yourself a super comforting bowl of deliciousness.

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Belly Pasta Recipe
serves 4-6

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 pound pork belly slices*
• 2 tablespoons – 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 cup water
• 1 shallot, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• lots of black pepper
• 8-12 ounces spaghetti, cooked and drained
• sliced green onions

In a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed pan, add the sugar and melt over medium to medium high heat. Don’t stir, just let the sugar melt and turn a deep caramel brown color, 3-5 minutes.

Add the pork belly, stir and cook until lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the the water, fish sauce, onions and shallots. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat until the liquid is at a simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender and the sauce reduces greatly, about 20-30 minutes.

Taste and season with plenty of black pepper. Add the pasta directly into the pan and toss to coat. Garnish with plenty of fresh green onions to add some brightness and enjoy immediately.

Notes: They sell pork belly in a variety of ways – I found the belly I used here at Whole Foods for a super reasonable price (less than $4!). The belly I bought was in about 1/4 inch slices, which I then cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Try to find belly with a reasonable meat to fat ratio.

The kind of fish sauce you use is key. If you’re not familiar with it, start with 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce and season to taste. KEY POINT: Make sure the fish sauce you’re using is transparent. There’s a fermented kind of fish sauce that is an opaque brown and you DO NOT want to use that.

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