Ba Chỉ Nướng Sả is pork belly marinated in a lemongrass blend and grilled to juicy perfection.
This flavorful pork can be served with rice, rice noodles, or in a Vietnamese Bánh Mì. It’s super easy and incredibly versatile!
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Your Easiest Vietnamese Pork Belly Recipe
Pork is a staple ingredient in Vietnam, even more popular than fish sauce.
Vietnamese use ground pork in egg omelette, pork belly in Thịt Kho Tàu, pork hock in Bún Bò Huế, pork bones in Hủ Tiếu soup, and even in the broth for Phở.
Many people are fans of both Bún Chả Hà Nội (Northern rice noodles with grilled pork) and Bún Thịt Nướng (Southern rice noodles with grilled pork) – two similar dishes but not the same. My lemongrass pork belly falls somewhere between these two beloved.
Just dump all the marinade ingredients onto the pork, let it marinate for at least 1 hour, and then you can start cooking. Not only pork, this marinade also goes great with lemongrass chicken.
Ingredients
Ingredients for Vietnamese Grilled Pork Belly are quite simple.
- Pork Belly: I prefer removing the pork rind (just forgot to do it this time). Then, I cut the pork belly into strips about 0.4 inches (1cm) thick.
- Seasoning: Fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk.
- Aromatic ingredients: Lemongrass, scallions, and garlic. Scallions are a popular herb in Vietnamese marinades. They create a distinct “Vietnamese flavor” that onions or shallots simply cannot replicate.
Related Recipes | What to do with leftover sweetened condensed milk:
Serve
There are several delicious ways to enjoy this Vietnamese lemongrass pork belly:
Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Pork Belly (Ba Chỉ Nướng Sả)
Ingredients
- 1.1 pound pork belly (500g) (cut into 0.4 inch (1cm) thick slices, rind removed)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 sprig scallion
- 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (or honey)
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
Instructions
Marinating:
- In a blender, blend together lemongrass, scallions, garlic, and a few tablespoons of water until smooth. While you could mince the ingredients with a knife, using a blender saves time and avoids any uncomfortable lumps in the marinade.
- Marinate the pork belly with this mixture, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Let the meat rest for at least 1 hour, or ideally overnight. Before cooking, remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Pan-grilling:
- Preheat your grill pan over medium-low heat.
- Pan-fry each side of the pork belly for 7-9 minutes.
Air-frying:
- Cook the pork belly in the air fryer for 10 minutes on each side at 390°F (200°C).
