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+rss = "Sino-Vietnamese caramelized pork and eggs, but by a slow cooker"
+date = Date(2023, 6, 3)
+tags = ["lyf", "recipe"]
++++
+
+# Slow Cooked Pork and Eggs
+
+[Thịt kho tàu], literally *Chinese braised pork*, is one of the most common
+Vietnamese dish, to be found anywhere from military camps[^USTH]
+to fancy restaurants, anytime from family diners to new year holidays.
+While originated from southeastern China, over the years it adopted
+local ingredients such as [fish sauce] and coconut flesh and probably
+does not taste the same.
+
+Due to time constraints, home cooks usually relies on fattier cuts
+such as the belly to maintain the juiciness.  The downside is that
+the excess fat can quickly tell the liver to tune down the appetite
+after a few meals.[^ngán]  This put me in an awkward position,
+since I was conditioned to feel wrong about braising a serving size
+of anything (I was living alone when typing this).
+
+Though, as said three sentences ago, leaner cuts can be as tender
+when cooked longer.  This is where slow cookers come to the rescue:
+they maintain temperature between 80 and 100°C and after eight hours
+even the toughest cuts will just fall apart.  The best part?
+No supervision needed.  Water doesn't even boil at that temperature,
+so accidentally burning food is never a worry.
+
+For the ease of maintenance, I'd recommend slow cookers whose pot and lid
+can be taken out for cleaning.  The pot should also be relatively large
+(3L[^imperial] or more) if you want to make other vegetable-rich stews.
+
+## Ingredients
+
+As a [big fan] of [Chef Jean-Pierre], I eyeball the amount of pretty much
+all ingredients here.  The amount of pork and eggs should be enough
+to at least fill the bottom of the pot.  I prefer quail eggs for their
+bite size and leaner cuts of pork but with some intramuscular fat
+and tendons.  Hocks, hams and shoulders are all good and cheap candidates.
+Leave the skin on, the gelatine helps thicken the sauce.  I like equal amount
+of eggs and meat.
+
+For seasoning, you'll need fish sauce, sugar, whole black pepper,
+and optionally shallot, garlic and hard coconut meat.
+
+## Preparation
+
+Boil the eggs and peel them.  Layer them in the pot.  Peel and slice one
+or two cloves of garlic and sprinkle them in there.  If you have coconut meat,
+julienne[^coconut] and throw it in as well.
+
+Cut the pork into bite-size dice.  Place the skin facing up or the side
+of the pot.  You want (some of it) to be drier for texture variety.
+Peel a few cloves of shallot and embed them between the dice of pork.
+
+## Cooking
+
+Pour a very thin layer of sugar on a sauce pan and heat it up at medium low
+to make some dark caramel (too low you'll just get liquid sugar and too high
+you'll burn it faster than the [blue hedgehog]).  Soon as it's bubbling,
+carefully pour in some water.  The amount should be able to almost cover
+the meat and eggs in the pot.
+
+While waiting the caramel to dissolve, add fish sauce to taste, and throw in
+a generous number of peppercorns.  Transfer the sauce to the pot, making sure
+the eggs are fully covered (they can be really chewy when dry: another reason
+to favor the quail ones).
+
+Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for around eight hours.  Tastes amazing
+either hot or cold, best served with boiled or pickled vegetables and any kind
+of starch, commonly rice or sweet potatoes but you can try bread, potatoes,
+or even short pasta if you're feeling adventurous.
+
+[^USTH]: My ole frens from [USTH] absolutely dug it during military training!
+[^ngán]: Okay, maybe I lied about the digging part.
+[^imperial]: Or 0.12245589 diesel tank in freedom units.
+[^coconut]: Anywhere between the size of a matchstick and a chopstick is good.
+
+[Thịt kho tàu]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caramelized_pork_and_eggs
+[fish sauce]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_sauce
+[big fan]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2013-06-08_mechanical_fan_for_hot_air_ballon.jpg
+[Chef Jean-Pierre]: https://chefjeanpierre.com
+[blue hedgehog]: https://nixnet.social/notice/AL2XqGNF2VwKgmbLfc
+[USTH]: https://usth.edu.vn