Thom Kem - Caramelized Meat
Updated: Jan 4, 2020
Normally pork belly is used, BUT I'm trying to cut back on the amount of pork I consume, so I decided to use chuck steak for this recipe. Swipe to see more pics!
Every ethnic group has their own way of making this dish and I believe it's what connects us because we all have our variations of how to make it! This is the Laotian way and how my mom taught me.
Ingredients
6-8 eggs
1/2-1 lb chuck steak (or your choice of meat -- can use chicken wings or pork belly)
1.5 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp chinese five spice powder
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 tbsp ginger powder
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp oyster sauce
4 cups water (for boiling)
Preparation
[the quick and easy way]
Measure out all of your ingredients beforehand.
Add eggs to a small pot and boil. Once finished, remove from pot, keep the water, and set aside. Tip: Put boiled eggs into a bowl with cold water to make peeling the shells a piece of cake.
Grab a saucepan and add in garlic and oil. Saute on HIGH heat. Once it starts to sizzle, pour in brown sugar and steak.
DO NOT stop stirring or the sugar will burn! This is how you get that caramelized flavor. See photo above for example.
I cook the meat until it's about 3/4 done because I'm going to continue boiling it next.
Grab your pot that has the previously boiled water and carefully scoop the meat and its caramelized goodness into the pot.
The reason I kept the boiled water is that it'll make the process much faster since the water is already boiled, rather than pouring it out and starting all over again -- this is what speeds up the process!*
Pour in oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, ginger powder, and five-spice powder. Add eggs to the pot.
Boil for 30-45 minutes on MED heat. (Personally, I boiled it for 1.5 hours just because I was in no rush to eat, but 30-45 minutes will suffice.)
Do a taste test and add in more salt, sugar, whichever is needed for your liking! Serve over white rice.
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