Thit Ba Roi Kho Mam Ruoc, Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener

Method

1. Start with the pineapple salsa: cut 400g pineapple into small dice, thinly slice 25g lemongrass, and finely mince 8g long red chili, 2g bird's eye chili, 30g shallot and 5g garlic.
2. Put it all in a bowl, add 25g lime juice, 27g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 35g fish sauce and 25g grapeseed oil, mix well and taste again. Fold in 20g mint leaves and 20g Thai basil at the end, then chill until serving.
3. Marinate 1kg pork belly, cut into 1cm dice, with 80g minced lemongrass, 70g minced garlic and 70g minced shallot for 30 minutes.
4. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot and stir fry the pork until firm with browned edges.
5. Add water just to the level of the meat and cook over medium heat until the pork is tender and the liquid has reduced to a glaze.
6. Stir in 160g Hue mam ruoc until it coats the pork, season with 50g fish sauce and 90g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, add 30g minced bird's eye chili, then lower the heat and braise until thick and well flavored.
7. Serve the pork hot with a bowl of the chilled pineapple salsa.

Tips

• The fish sauce and the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend go in only after the mam ruoc is in the pot, since the paste is salty on its own.
• The mint and Thai basil are folded in last so they stay intact, and the salsa tastes freshest straight from the fridge.
• Browning the edges of the pork before the water goes in builds the most fragrant part of the dish.
• kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly in a thick braise, so the pot needs another stir and 5 minutes before tasting again.
• kOBE Monk Fruit Blend does not darken on its own, so a spoonful of nuoc hang (caramel sauce) deepens the color of the pot.
• The pork cools before it goes into sealed jars, and it keeps 5 to 7 days in the fridge, gaining flavor as it sits.