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These caramelized pork and coconut rice bowls are a complete meal layered with flavor and texture—savory pork, garlicky nuoc cham, crisp-tender vegetables, and rich coconut lime rice all in one bowl. It’s fresh, satisfying, and makes an impressive meal that still comes together in about 40 minutes.
I first had this dish in culinary school when we spent an entire week butchering half a pig and diving into the different ways to cook pork. This one was my favorite, and although I love to still make the classic version this when I have a few hours on the weekends, this quick and easy version with pork tenderloin is great for a weeknight meal.
Chef Tips
- Start with your coconut rice as this takes the longest time. After you get that going, prep the vegetables and then marinate the pork.
- The cooking here doesn’t take long (~15 minutes for all the components), so make sure to have everything you need ready for the fire. Mise en place!
- Use pork tenderloin (usually 2” in diameter, ~ $10 / lb ), and not pork loin (~4” in diameter, ~$5 / lb and commonly used for pork chops). Be careful not to overcook the pork, as it will become very tough.
- If you can’t get your hands on pork tenderloin, I highly suggest you swap out the tenderloin for ground pork.
- Feel free to swap out the green beans and broccoli for whatever veggies you have in your fridge. You can use just one vegetable (like broccoli), or combine a few together like I did. A simple saute in the same pan as you cooked the pork and shallots will do.
- The components in this dish are very similar to my Vietnamese inspired shaking beef bowl. Reference a few other tips here.
- Every component of this dish can be doubled.
Other great recipes:
Video
Recipe
Caramelized Pork and Coconut Rice Bowls
These caramelized pork and coconut rice bowls are a complete meal layered with flavor and texture—savory pork, garlicky nuoc cham, crisp-tender vegetables, and rich coconut lime rice all in one bowl. It’s fresh, satisfying, and makes an impressive meal that still comes together in about 40 minutes.
Ingredients
Pork and Marinade
- 1.5 lb pork tenderloin
- 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 shallot
- 4 eggs
- 8 ounces of green beans
- 2 small heads of broccoli, about 8 ounces
- 2 persian cucumbers
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- mint, for garnish
Nuoc Cham
- 2.5 tablespoons white sugar
- 2.5 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1.5 tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons of lime juice
- .25 cup of water
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Coconut Lime Rice
- .75 cup jasmine rice
- .25 cup quinoa
- .75 cup water
- .5 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ can coconut milk, about .75 cups
- Juice and Zest of 1/4 lime
Instructions
- Make the coconut lime rice. Add the rice and quinoa to a pot. Toast on medium high heat for 1 minute (this helps eliminate some of the starches and bring out the flavor of the quinoa). Shake the can of coconut milk and pour ¾ cup into the pot. Add another ¾ cup of water and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring up to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Cook for 20 minutes, then turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. You can also make this in the rice cooker. Once cooked, fold in the lime zest and juice. It’s normal to see most of the coconut rice at the top – just mix everything together..75 cup jasmine rice, .25 cup quinoa, .75 cup water, .5 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ can coconut milk, Juice and Zest of 1/4 lime
- Prep all your vegetables – slice the shallots into ½” pieces, cut the broccoli into 1” pieces, trim the green beans, half moon the cucumbers, and slice the tomatoes in half. Mince the garlic for the nuoc cham.1 shallot, 8 ounces of green beans, 2 small heads of broccoli, 2 persian cucumbers, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 clove garlic
- Slice the pork tenderloin into thin ¼” thick pieces. Add this to a bowl with the salt, soy, sesame oil, and brown sugar. Mix together.1.5 lb pork tenderloin, 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Make the nuoc cham sauce. Combine everything in a bowl or jar and whisk until the sugar is melted and everything is combined.2.5 tablespoons white sugar, 2.5 tablespoons fish sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1.5 tablespoons of lime juice, .25 cup of water, 1 clove garlic
- Heat a cast iron on medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil. Then add the marinated pork, and shallots. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the pork has changed colors on both sides and the inside is 145F. Remove this from the pan.
- To the same pan, add another tablespoon of oil and the green beans. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the edges are blistered, then add the broccoli, ¼ cup of water, and a pinch of salt. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the beans are crisp tender.
- Now, cook your eggs sunny side up, or over easy. I add a teaspoon of oil to the pan, the eggs and cook covered for 3 minutes on medium heat. Season with salt and pepper.4 eggs
- Toss the cucumbers and tomatoes with a couple tablespoons of nuoc cham.
- Assemble the bowls with ½ cup of coconut rice, a serving of the pork, greens beans, and cucumber tomato salad. Garnish with the mint and top with an egg over the rice, and enjoy. Serve with more nuoc Cham on the side.mint
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