Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls (Print Version)

# Ingredients:

01 - Salt and pepper, just enough
02 - 3 scallions, slice up those white and green parts
03 - Juice from about 1/8 of a lime, squeeze to taste
04 - Zest from one lime, grated fresh
05 - 2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
06 - 2 tablespoons brown sugar (make it more or less sweet for you)
07 - ½ cup shallots, sliced super thin (just sort of packed)
08 - 1 fresh big red chili (like a Serrano or Jalapeno), no seeds, chopped up
09 - 2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
10 - 2 teaspoons ginger, mince it up
11 - 3 tablespoons neutral oil (canola, peanut, or vegetable are all fine), split up
12 - 1 pound ground pork

# Instructions:

01 - Toss 1½ tablespoons oil in a big skillet, crank the heat to high. Drop in the ground pork, don’t touch it for about a minute, then sprinkle a little salt and pepper. Keep cooking, stir every so often, for about 4 minutes until it looks browned.
02 - Move the browned pork to a colander so the extra fat and juices can run off. Let it drain, then put it aside.
03 - Put the rest of your oil into the same skillet and keep the heat high. Throw in the shallots, give them a minute. Next, put in chili and ginger, stir for another minute. Toss in the garlic and stir non-stop, just 15 seconds.
04 - Put the pork back in the pan and mix it with the cooked veggies. Pour in fish sauce and add brown sugar, give it a good stir. Let it hang out in the pan for a minute to get that caramel thing going. Stir again, scraping up any tasty bits. Taste and fix with more salt and pepper if you want.
05 - Scatter scallions, lime zest, and lime juice over the pork in the pan. Toss everything together for just a few seconds, then cut the heat. Scoop it over white rice or use crisp lettuce for wraps, splash more lime juice on top if that's your vibe.

# Notes:

01 - Don’t skip cooking the pork till it gets some color—it really builds the taste.
02 - Change up the amount of brown sugar in there if you want it less or more sweet.
03 - To dial down the heat, switch in some red bell pepper instead of chili.

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