One time when I went shopping at an Asian Food store, I saw an interesting dipping sauce, Lemongrass & Baby Shrimp Dipping Sauce (Ruốc xào sả) imported from Vietnam. It was the first time I got to know this dipping sauce, so I bought one to try making something with it. It turned out a Pork Belly Stir Fry with the sauce, and the taste was great! The flavor is like a Vietnamese popular dish, Stir Fry Pork belly in Fermented Shrimp Paste, but the cooking time was shortened and simplified thanks to this ready-to-eat sauce. Let’s try it with me!
Ingredients
- Pork Belly: the key ingredient of the dish. I took a 250g (approximately 9 oz) pork belly and sliced it into thin pieces. Select fresh, pinkish pork belly for best results.
- Lemongrass & Baby Shrimp Dipping Sauce: This is a type of dipping sauce made from Baby Shrimp and minced lemongrass, imported from Vietnam. As I read on the label of the bottle, the ingredients include small shrimp (27%), salt, garlic, onion, lemongrass (6.5%), soya bean oil, sugar, and chili. Based on the list of ingredients, I can confirm that the combination of this dipping sauce and pork belly is totally the same with how my mom made Stir Fry Pork Belly with Fermented Shrimp Paste. It saved my time preparing minced garlic, onion, lemongrass and as well as adjusting the taste when mixing everything together. You can buy it online by googling the name “Minh Ha Lemongrass & Baby Shrimp Dipping Sauce (Ruoc Xao Sa)”.
In case it’s impossible to buy it, you can prepare Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste, minced garlic, onion, and lemongrass to make the dish.
How to make Pork Belly Stir Fry with Lemongrass & Baby Shrimp Dipping Sauce
As I shared, thanks to the sauce, everything became super easy. The total cooking time of the dish can be around 20-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pork belly slices.
Firstly, slice the pork belly into thin slices, around ½ cm or 1/5 inches. Thin slices of pork belly help to season the dish more easily and quickly and shorten the cooking time.
Marinate it with a tsp of salt, a tsp of minced garlic and 2 tbsp of lemongrass & baby shrimp sauce. Mix them well and marinate the meat in 10-30 minutes.
You can replace 2 tbsp of this sauce with 1 tbsp of Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste. Shrimp paste, of course, is more savory than this ready-to-use sauce, so remember to use less.
After that, in a pan, add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and heat it up on medium heat. Then, add a tbsp of minced shallots and stir until the aroma spreads. Transfer your marinated pork belly to the pan and stir them evenly until all slices are well cooked.
Taste the meat to check if it’s to your liking. Adjust by adding more sauce/ shrimp paste and turn off the heat.
Garnish with some slices of spring onions and chilies. Serve hot for the best taste as well as to avoid the fishery smell of fermented shrimp paste when it cools down.
What to serve with Stir Fry Pork Belly & Shrimp Sauce?
For every Asian family, cooked rice, such as jasmine rice or brown rice is a must. Vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, lettuces or bok choy are good to go along with the dish and the lemongrass & baby shrimp dipping sauce. Feel free to be creative.
To store the dish, move the leftover to an air-tight container to prevent the smell from spreading all your fridge. Keep it in the fridge not more than 3 days.
Other dishes with Pork Belly:
Beside this dish, there are a lot of Vietnamese Dish to make with Pork Belly. Let’s check:
- Caramelized Pork and Eggs (Thit Kho Trung)
- Vietnamese Spring Rolls
- Vietnamese Pancake
- Stir Fry Pork Belly with Mushrooms and Carrots
- Braised Pork Belly with Chestnut
- Crispy Pork Belly
Stir Fry Pork Belly with Lemongrass & Baby Shrimp Sauce
The flavor is like a Vietnamese popular dish, Stir Fry Pork belly in Fermented Shrimp Paste, but the cooking time was shortened and simplified thanks to this ready-to-eat sauce.
Ingredients
- 250g (9 oz) pork belly
- 1 tsp of minced garlic
- 1 tbsp of minced shallot
- 2 tbsp of Vietnamese Lemongrass & Baby Shrimp Dipping Sauce, or
- 1 tbsp of Shrimp Paste
- Optional: spring onion and chilies slices
Instructions
Step 1. Marinate pork belly
- Firstly, slice the pork belly into thin slices, around ½ cm or 1/5 inches. Thin slices of pork belly help to season the dish more easily and quickly and shorten the cooking time.
- Marinate it with a tsp of salt, a tsp of minced garlic and 2 tbsp of lemongrass & baby shrimp sauce. Mix them well and marinate the meat in 10-30 minutes. You can replace 2 tbsp of this sauce with 1 tbsp of Vietnamese fermented shrimp paste.
Step 2. Stir fry Pork Belly
- In a pan, add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and heat it up on medium heat. Then, add a tbsp of minced shallots and stir until the aroma spreads. Transfer your marinated pork belly to the pan and stir them evenly until all slices are well cooked.
- Taste the meat to check if it’s to your liking. Adjust by adding more sauce/ shrimp paste and turn off the heat.
- Garnish with some slices of spring onions and chilies. Serve hot for the best taste as well as to avoid the fishery smell of fermented shrimp paste when cooling down.
Notes
To store the dish, move the leftover to an air-tight container to prevent the smell from spreading all your fridge. Keep it in the fridge not more than 3 days.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 120Amount Per Serving: Calories: 535