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Thit Kho (Caramelized Braised Pork and Eggs)

Name: Thit Kho (Caramelized Braised Pork and Eggs)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 2 lbs pork belly, cut into chunks; 4 hard-boiled eggs; 2 cups coconut water; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 2 tbsp sugar; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 shallots, minced; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp caramel sauce

Thit Kho (Caramelized Braised Pork and Eggs) reads umami 9.0, richness 7.4 and sweetness 6.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Vietnamese main, about 1 hr 30 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 10.0 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 7.4 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.6 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.0 / 10
Rich & Fat — 7.9 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.1 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 9.0 · Richness 7.4 · Sweetness 6.3 · Funk & Ferment 5.9 · Salinity 5.4 · Marine & Briny 4.7 · Allium 3.9 · Fruity 3.5 · Nutty 1.9 · Smoke 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.3 · Floral 1.1 · Bitterness 0.9 · Heat 0.8 · Earthy 0.7 · Sourness 0.6

What's in it (9)

2 lbs pork belly, cut into chunks
4 hard-boiled eggs
2 cups coconut water
3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp caramel sauce

Time & effort: about 1 hr 30 min (20 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 365.9 kcal, 7.9 g protein, 34.4 g fat, 7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Make a dry caramel with sugar until amber, then add garlic and shallots and saute.
Add pork belly pieces and sear, then pour in coconut water, fish sauce, and pepper.
Braise on low heat for at least one hour until pork is tender and sauce is a glossy deep-brown glaze, adding eggs in the final 20 minutes.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Crostini Neri di Fegatini — Italian · Tuscany
Pinakbet (Braised Mixed Vegetables with Shrimp Paste) — Filipino
Vietnamese Spring Rolls — Vietnamese
Vietnamese Caramel Pork (Thit Kho) — Vietnamese
Bicol Express (Pork Belly and Long Chillies in Coconut Milk) — Filipino

Keep reading: what umami, richness, sweetness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.