Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Midweek meal: Turn your boring spag bol into Vietnamese-inspired caramelised pork bowls

Vietnamese-inspired caramelised pork bowls. Photo credit: PA Photo/Phoebe Pearson.
Vietnamese-inspired caramelised pork bowls. Photo credit: PA Photo/Phoebe Pearson.

Philli Armitage-Mattin’s Vietnamese-inspired caramelised pork bowls are a quick and delicious midweek meal.

“You know that overused spag bol or chilli con carne that you love but
are a little tired of? Let me introduce the caramelised pork bowl,” says chef Philli.

“It’s ready in under 30 minutes and it’s super, super tasty.”

Vietnamese-inspired caramelised pork bowls

Philli Armitage-Mattin. Photo credit: PA Photo/Caitlin Isola.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • 6 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts separately
  • 2 carrots, grated or finely chopped – if using a mandoline, be careful!
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2.5cm piece of ginger, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4-8 bird’s eye or Thai chillies, finely sliced
  • 500g pork, minced
  • 5 tbsp/60g brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 3 tbsp roasted peanuts, crushed
  • 1 lime, wedged
  • Handful of coriander, chopped
  • Handful of mint, chopped

To serve:

  • Steamed jasmine rice

Method

  1. If you’re serving with rice, get your rice on the go first.
  2. Heat a wok over a medium-high heat with the oil, then add the spring onions – white parts only – half the carrots and the salt. Cook for three to four minutes, stirring constantly. You’re looking for the carrot to turn slightly limp. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and cook for a further minute until aromatic.
  3. Add the pork mince to the wok and turn up to a high heat, breaking up all the meat with a spatula to make sure all the meat turns white and there are no pink bits.
  4. Add the brown sugar, fish sauce and soy sauce. Give everything a stir before leaving it to fully cook down and caramelise without stirring for about six to eight minutes. Stir again and then let everything fully caramelise again for about 60 seconds. Repeat until the meat is dark brown and there are little crispy bits of pork. However, keep an eye on it because it can burn quickly.
  5. Taste adjust to your flavour profile, and serve over rice. Garnish with chilli flakes, the rest of the spring onions, roasted peanuts, lime wedges and chopped fresh herbs.

For more midweek meal ideas, search our archive here. Or visit Philli Armitage-Mattin’s website.

Taste Kitchen: Asia – Six Flavours To Suit Every Taste by Philli Armitage-Mattin is published by Robinson, priced £26. Photography by Phoebe Pearson.