You won’t find this dish in many Vietnamese restaurants, but every Vietnamese family makes this dish at home, especially around Lunar New Year (Tết). It’s one of the most flavorful and delicious dishes—the pork belly is braised in coconut water and becomes super tender in no time thanks to the Instant Pot. You get that lovely rich color from caramelized sugar and thick soy sauce. Its the perfect meal for those who love a varied experience in terms of texture and flavor—you can move from the fatty pork belly right into the semi-soft hard boiled eggs. I suggest serving this over a bowl of jasmine rice that has been delicately spooned with the delicious broth in which you cooked the pork belly. Serve it with crisp, cold cucumber slices—a fantastic contrast especially in warmer weather months or pickled mustard greens which balances out the richness of this dish.
You can purchase this steamer basket here.
Be sure to click on the accessories list below to get the most out of your Instant Pot.
20 Comments
Christy
November 13, 2018 at 7:23 pm
Hi! This sounds so delicious! I just have one question, as I’m pretty new to cooking pork belly, do I peel the tough skin off before dicing the pork belly? Or do I just leave it on? Thank you so much. I have a pork belly in the fridge, and will make this as soon as I get an answer! Cheers!
Van
November 13, 2018 at 7:32 pm
Hi Christy, it’s just personal preference. The pork belly I use already has the skin removed, so you could remove it if you want to. Hope you enjoy it!
Tania
November 18, 2018 at 10:38 pm
Thanks so much for posting your recipe! I didn’t have your specific brands of fish sauce and soy sauce so I just used whatever brands and it still came out really good. The meat was really flavorful and tender! I used pork shoulder instead of pork belly and coco soda instead of coconut water so the liquid was a bit too sweet. Next time I have to remember to reduce the amount of sugar if I’m using the soda.
Sue
November 19, 2018 at 12:05 am
Do I need to parboil the pork belly for a few minutes before marinating?
Van
November 19, 2018 at 1:13 am
Hi Sue, I don’t parboil it, but you can if you prefer.
Natalie
December 21, 2018 at 7:03 pm
Is High Pressure/Manual the same as Pressure Cooker mode?
Van
December 21, 2018 at 7:25 pm
Hi Natalie, yes the Pressure Cook button will also give you the option for high pressure.
Daniel tan
December 30, 2018 at 3:59 pm
When putting the pork belly into the instant pot, do we include the marinade sauce that we have prepared earlier?
Van
December 30, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Hi Daniel, yes add the marinade sauce as well. Hope you enjoy!
Elaine
January 22, 2019 at 2:57 pm
There are so many brands of coconut water in the store. Is there a specific brand that’s best for cooking? Thank you!
Van
January 22, 2019 at 3:07 pm
Hi Elaine, any brand will work as long as it’s pure coconut water. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
irene
February 4, 2022 at 3:40 pm
I tried this but when I added my marinaded pork to the caramel mixture, the caramel instantly hardened and I ended up with chunks of it randomly.
Van
February 4, 2022 at 3:48 pm
Hello, that’s normal. If you continue with the recipe, the sugar dissolves when you pressure cook it.
Jenny
April 30, 2019 at 10:10 pm
Hi Van, Thank you for sharing your recipe! I tried it tonight with ribs instead and it was excellent. Lot less clean up than the old school way but just as authentic! 🙂
Van
May 3, 2019 at 6:03 pm
Hi Jenny, glad it turned out well for you 😀
Jenny
May 16, 2020 at 1:34 pm
Hi. Just made this last night and love it!!!
Leah
December 9, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Can I substitute rock sugar for granulated sugar 1:1?
Van
December 10, 2020 at 2:01 am
Hi Leah, yes you can substitute with rock sugar.
Leanne
July 15, 2021 at 10:21 pm
Can I use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar?
Thank you
Van
July 16, 2021 at 9:49 am
Yes you can