Măng Kho Thịt (Braised Pork with Bamboo Shoots)

I got to spend another week working out of our Montréal office while my boyfriend A was working in Montréal also. I stayed at my mom's during the week since the office is 5 minutes away. This means that I got to enjoy some home cooking! I've written this before but while I do enjoy the special "weekend" treats (that we ate on the weekend) like bánh xèo (Vietnamese crepes), I do also miss the "week day" food we ate with rice. A lot of this food is kho, meaning braised in Vietnamese.

This time around I asked for măng kho thịt (braised pork with bamboo shoots). Like all kho food, is it very flavourful so you can eat rice with it. To get this flavour, you have to take your time to cook it. This is no stir fry! There is usually a tasty sauce that you can add to your rice. One main difference from eating such dishes in Vietnam is that we enjoy a lot more meat. In a similar dish, there might be a handful of pieces, mainly fatty ones. To meet my pickiness, my mom picks less fatty cuts of meat.

You can buy bamboo shoots in plastic packages in the refrigerator section of Asian grocery stores or you can even use canned bamboo shoots. Eating bamboo shoots is a very Asian specific ingredient and I love it. I love the slightly crunch texture of the bamboo and it's a perfect vehicle to absorb all of the flavours from the sauce. I think I might even like the bamboo better than the pork...!

Măng Kho Thịt (Braised Pork with Bamboo Shoots)

* oil
* ½ onion, sliced thinly
* 1 lb pork shoulder, cubed into 1" pieces
* 3 tsp salt
* 1 tsp pepper
* 3 tbsp sugar
* 2 lbs bamboo shoots, canned or bagged
* 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Season pork with 1 tsp salt and allow to marinate for 1-2 hours.
Heat oil in a medium pot.
Add onion slices to the oil and cook until softened for 1-2 minutes.
Add the pieces of meat.

Season with the remaining remaining 2 tsp salt, pepper, sugar.

Add chopped bamboo shoots, soy sauce and 1 cup of water.
Bring up the liquid to a boil and bring down to a simmer.
Add more water if necessary and the liquid dries up.
Allow to braise for 1 hour or so (until the pork is tender).

Serve with a bowl of rice.

Tada!


All you need is rice!