Sister#8 called to inquire about my health, and to insist I get serious about my heart problem. Also to remind me to write down this recipe in case anything happens to me. My dear family cares so much about me!

This dish is dedicated to all the Bắc-kỳ con. We had it with sliced cucumbers (I used the japanese cucumbers) and assorted rau thơm.

• 2 lbs of heo ba-rọi, cut into thin 1-cm pieces
• chopped garlic, lemongrass, shallots, red pepper
• 1/3 jar of the stinky mắm-ruốc. I got mine as mắm-ruốc Nha-Trang.
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 can of Coco soda
• 2 T tamarind juice

I used only fresh ingredients, which means no frozen or ready-made garlic or lemongrass. Chop each separately.

In hot pot, add some oil. Add shallots, stir-fry till a bit dried. Then add lemongrass and garlic. You can also add the red pepper at this point, but since I can’t eat spicy foods, I add this part last.

When your kitchen starts smelling good, add the pork, stir-fry till the meat is partially cooked. Add sugar and coco juice. Simmer for 1/2 hour.

Add mắm-ruốc. Now, your kitchen will start smelling like rotten food. So cover the pot, and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.

Adjust the taste with sugar and tamarind juice.  The tamarind juice is my little secret for that zing in this dish.