Vietnamese Pork Skewers

Honey-glazed grilled pork skewers with a bright, tangy nuoc cham dipping sauce.

Ingredients

Skewers

• 900g pork shoulder (or use ground pork)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3-4 ice cubes
• ¼ cup (60ml) honey, warmed
• 8 large flour tortillas

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp warm water
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 small red chilli, thinly sliced

Method

1. If using pork shoulder, cut into 5cm chunks (aim for 20-30% fat content). Place in the freezer for 30 minutes so they’re very cold but not rock-hard. This helps with processing.
2. Add the chilled pork chunks (or ground pork) to a food processor with the garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, black pepper, baking powder, and ice cubes. Process until it becomes a smooth, sticky paste, scraping down the sides as needed.
3. Stack the tortillas and cut them into approximately 15cm squares.
4. Wet your hands lightly. Take approximately ⅛ of the pork mixture and spread it evenly on one tortilla, pressing it out to the edges.
5. Top with another tortilla and repeat, alternating pork and tortilla layers until all the mixture is used, ending with pork on the top tortilla.
6. Cut the stack into 4 equal rectangles, then turn them on their side and push together.
7. Push 4 long skewers through the stack, spacing them evenly. Cut through between the skewers to create 4 individual long pork skewers.
8. Preheat grill to medium heat. Place a cooking rack on the grill and lightly coat with cooking spray.
9. Place the skewers on the rack and grill, turning often to achieve beautiful, charred colour all over. This will take 10-12 minutes.
10. During the last 3 minutes of cooking, brush the skewers with warmed honey.
11. Make the nuoc cham: Stir the sugar into warm water until dissolved. Add fish sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, and sliced chilli. Mix well.
12. Remove skewers from grill and serve with the dipping sauce.

Nutrition (per serving, approximate)

Notes

The tortilla layers help create a unique texture and hold the skewers together. If this seems too complex, you can simply form the mixture into sausages, patties, or meatballs and grill as usual - they’ll still be delicious. The nuoc cham sauce is essential for authentic Vietnamese flavour. Can also be cooked on a barbecue or under a hot grill.

Tags: #pork #vietnamese #asian