Vietnamese-inspired Caramelized Pork Bowls are my vegan take on Caramelized ground Pork using lentils instead of meat substitutes. The dish comes together so quickly and is packed with flavor. My new favorite way of serving lentils! Nutfree vegan recipe. Gluten-free option.
Get ready for some sticky spicy goodness. These Vietnamese-inspired lentil pork bowls are a vegan version of Vietnamese-style caramelized ground pork, a popular take-out dish.
There are variations in the dish depending on the restaurant. You can use pork or chicken subs here but we skip the meat substitutes and use lentils instead. Budget-friendly and whole food!
The pork versions usually use fish sauce. Since vegan fish sauce isn’t available as easily, I make my own fish sauce dressing with the ingredients listed adapted from this.
For this recipe, we sautee the lentils with chili, garlic and ginger for that flavor and caramelize them using some coconut sugar or brown sugar.
But the deliciousness only starts here. Now we toss the lentils with a sweet and spicy dressing. This step turns them into something utterly addictive.
We save the rest of the dressing for tossing any veggies we want to add to the bowls. DIVINE! It’s zesty and spicy and great over cucumber and radish and saves time if you don’t have pickled veggies to serve with the bowl. I served my lentils over rice along with some refreshing cucumber slices and green onions but you can get creative here. Use noodles or lettuce, Some pickled radishes and carrots go wonderfully.
More vegan lentil recipe:
- Lentil Orzo Salad
- Vegan Lentil Sambusa Pie
- Vegan Handi Lentils (Creamy Indian Dal)
- Vegan Lentil Sausage Rolls
More Asian meals
- Vietnamese Curried Tofu Noodle Bowl Recipe
- Curried Tofu Banh Mi Vegan Recipe
- Baked Vietnamese fries
- Miso Chili Garlic Tofu Sandwich
Vegan Vietnamese Inspired Caramelized Lentil Pork Bowls
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1 teaspoon miso yellow or white
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or use tamari for gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons warm water or vegan chicken flavored broth
- optional add ins : 1-2 teaspoons vegan fish sauce, 1/2 teaspoon boullion paste or powder
Lentils:
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 or 1 green chili finely chopped
- 15 oz (425.24 g) can lentils , drained or 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils. Brown or green lentils. Use black lentils if you like hardy lentils
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or use tamari for gluten-free
- 4-5 tablespoons of the mixed dressing from above
For the Bowl:
- Cooked rice or cooked vermicelli noodles
- 1 cucumber thinly sliced
- green onions and sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Make the dressing; Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix really well. Press the miso to the side of the bowl and mix until miso and sugar are mixed in. Set it aside.
- Make the lentil pork; Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot add in the onion and a good pinch of salt and a good pinch of sugar. Mix and cook until the onions start to turn golden on some edges, then add the ginger, garlic, and green chili and continue to cook.
- Deglaze the pan as needed with a few teaspoons of water if the mixture is drying out too much. Continue to cook until the onion is golden and starting to turn brown, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Then add the lentils, brown sugar, soy sauce and mix in. Add in the 3-4 tablespoons of the mixed dressing and mix in. Cook until the sauce comes to a boil and starts to thicken. Taste and adjust flavor by adding salt if you need or add another tablespoon of the prepared dressing and mix in.
- You can also add in the zest of half a lime here for additional tang. Once the sauce has thickened and lentils are starting to stick, Take off the heat .
- Serve in a bowl or lettuce wraps To the bowl add cooked rice or cooked noodles, a good helping of the caramelized lentils then cucumber or other sliced fresh veggies or pickled radishes and carrots. Drizzle remaining dressing over the cucumbers and rice/noodles.
- Store: store the lentils in a covered container in the fridge for upto 3 days. Reheat and serve in the bowl.
Notes
Nutrition
INGREDIENTS:
- lentils: canned or cooked . I used brown lentils here. I would not recommend red lentils as they are too soft.
- the lentils are fried with onion, ginger, garlic and green chili
- we caramelize the mix with brown sugar or coconut sugar
- soy sauce adds the saltiness to counterbalance the sweetness
- For the sweet & spicy dressing we mix miso with soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, pepper flakes, coconut sugar
and garlic . Some of these make up a dish sauce substitute flavor - For the bowl, I add cooked rice, cucumber and green onions
TIPS:
- instead of white rice, you can use quinoa or rice noodles
- dont want to use lentils? Use soycurls or chickpeas! Rehydrate soycurls then chop into a mince and use
- To make this recipe gluten free, use tamari instead of soy sauce.
How to make Vegan Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls with lentils
Make the dressing; Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix really well.
Press the miso to the side of the bowl until completely mixed in. Set it aside.
Make lentil pork ; Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is hot add in the onion and a good pinch of salt and a good pinch of sugar.
Mix and cook until the onions start to turn golden on some edges, then add the ginger, garlic, and green chili and continue to cook.
Deglaze the pan as needed with a few teaspoons of water if the mixture is drying out too much. Continue to cook until the onion is golden and starting to turn brown on some edges, 7 to 10 minutes.
Then add the lentils, brown sugar, soy sauce and mix in. Add in the 3-4 tablespoons of the mixed dressing and mix in.
Cook until the sauce comes to a boil and starts to thicken. Taste and adjust the flavor by adding salt if you need or add another 1-2 tablespoon of the prepared dressing and mix in.
You can also add in the zest of half a lime here for additional tang. Take off the heat and serve.
WAYS TO SERVE These Delicious Caramelized Pork lentils
You can serve the lentils in a bowl or you can make lettuce wraps.
If you want to serve this in a bowl, add some rice or cooked noodles, a good helping of the caramelized lentils then sliced cucumber or other sliced fresh veggies.
Add pickled radishes or carrots as well then dress the rice or noodles, the lentils and the cucumber generously with dressing and serve.
Julian
Hi Richa, first time lentil cooker here, so my apologies if this is a silly question, but: if I have bagged lentils, should I be preparing them by simmering them in a saucepan before adding them to the recipe or should I throw them into the pot with the ingredients straight from the bag? Thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
no problem! unlike beans, lentils are ready to use. just pop them in the pot!
Sue
Totally messed this up by adding all of the sauce too early. The flavors were still fantastic! But my sous chef asked me to make it again (without his help 🙂) the proper way.
Vegan Richa Support
Haha! Very glad you enjoy the recipe.
Sarah
I made this, it was amazing!! it’s now my favorite lentil recipe and I will be making it on a regular basis. Thanks Vegan Richa for your recipes, I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve tried so far and will be buying some (if not all) of your cookbooks soon
Vegan Richa Support
Thank you for your support, Sarah!
Joanne
Was so nice! Will be making this again. Thanks Richa your recipes are amazing.
Vegan Richa Support
So happy to hear!
Tiffany C George
I made this alongside some summer rolls for my friend and I. We loved it! Super easy to make and the presentation is wonderful.
Vegan Richa Support
Yum great pairing! So glad you enjoy the recipe.
Kim
I cooked (hard) lentils in my rice cooker with Bragg Liquid Aminos in place of the soy sauce in the lentils. Everything else was as you wrote it. We (one vegan and one not) loved the flavor and how filling this was.
Vegan Richa Support
Terrific!
Paula
This was such a nice light dinner. I can’t eat onions or garlic so I sort of caramelized some yellow bell peppers with the ginger. It was still great this way.
Vegan Richa Support
Yummy!
Erin
We make this dish weekly. I typically double it as we can’t get enough!!! It is SO delicious.
Vegan Richa Support
Awesome!
Jessica
I’ve made this three times now and it’s always delicious. The first time I served it hot with rice, cucumber, and quick-pickled carrot ribbons. The next times I had it cold with rice, cucumber, and green apple. The combination worked really well. It’s good the next day for lunch as well. Another great recipe – thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
Thanks so much!
Nat
So easy and absolutely delicious. Husband had 2 servings.
Richa
Yay
JenniferG
I was attracted by the high ratings and was absolutely delighted with this meal – deserves a 6/5!!
Really tasty, quite easy to cook and ingredients most of us have to hand.
Highly recommended for veg and meat eaters nicer than the pork original
Vegan Richa Support
Perfect.
Erin G
This is one of my new favorite recipes. just to die for!!!
Vegan Richa Support
Hooray!
Nouran
This is one of those recipes that’ll make you do a happy dance while you eat. Such complex flavours with such simple ingredients! Richa you really are amazing at combining flavours. I really enjoyed this, thank you so much ❤️
Vegan Richa Support
I can just picture it!
Kelly Stevens
Loved this recipe! It was so good.. Will definitelty be a repeat for us. I served the lentils over rice but think they would also be delicious in lettuce wraps. Thanks so much for sharing!
Vegan Richa Support
Lettuce wraps are a great option as well.
Greg
Another fantastic dish – love your recipes Richa!
Vegan Richa Support
Hooray!
Anna Brewer
So full of flavor! Loved this. The portions were small but I’m used to this with VR recipes 🙂 i doubled the lentil mix and used all of the dressing, which worked perfectly, and means that you can just add the soy sauce/sugar from the lentils directly into the dressing! This served 5 of us alongside quinoa and some quick pickled cucumber, which I’d highly recommend!
Vegan Richa Support
MMMM sounds tasty.
Cheryl
Another winner!! And very quick using canned lentils. I will be doubling it next time as we had no leftovers ☹️
Vegan Richa Support
Perfect; thank you.
Diane Barber
I really surprised my husband with this dinner last night ! I served the lentils with rice on a bed of Tom Thumb lettuce from our garden . I accompanied it with crispy vegetable spring rolls . He was not expecting this delicious dinner when he came home late from work at 10:30 ! Thank you for this absolutely delicious recipe ! I definitely will be making this again real soon 😋
Richa
Yay!!
Diane
I really surprised my husband with this dinner last night ! I served the lentils with rice on a bed of Tom Thumb lettuce from our garden . I accompanied it with crispy vegetable spring rolls . He was not expecting this delicious dinner when he came home late from work at 10:30 ! Thank you for this absolutely delicious recipe ! I definitely will be making this again real soon 😋
Vegan Richa Support
Sounds so nice.
Shirley Pastore McCormack
Awesome recipe! We doubled to make sure we had leftovers and used half the sweetener. Delish. Okay
Vegan Richa Support
Great idea~thinking ahead.
Monica
This was delicious and easy!!
Vegan Richa Support
Hooray!
Erin
Phenomenal and such an easy meal to pull together!!! Going to be a weekly rotation moving forward.
Vegan Richa Support
see you next week =)
Debra
I made this for lunch today and both my husband and son asked if I could make it again for dinner. 🙂 This was a nice change from our usual go-to lentil recipe. So easy and the flavors were amazing.
Vegan Richa Support
love new dishes
Claire panella
Served it over pasta was a hit. 🏅
Richa
Yay
Franny
Delicious, Richa! Such amazing flavors. The sauce is awesome. I was out of miso and subbed tahini. Also made the vegan fish sauce -thanks for the link! I used Trader Joe’s prepared French Lentils and they refused to caramelize, and were kinda mushy, but still tasted great. Next time I will try pan-fried crumbled tempeh. I also made the linked pickled radishes and carrots, and added cucumber. Very tasty! Our closest vegan Vietnamese restaurant is 3 hours away (in Los Angeles) but now I can get those yummy flavors at home! Thanks, dear Richa, for a keeper recipe. 💖 Franny
Richa
Awesome! Yes use tempeh or seitan
CJurado
We tried out this recipe for dinner last and and it came together quite easily and was bursting with flavor! I followed the recipe precisely using French green lentils that I cooked until just ready. The lentils did not get mushy from any further cooking in the recipe. We ate the caramelized lentils over rice cooked with vermicelli and added suggested toppings as well as pickled red onion. Delicious!
Richa
Awesome
Wendy
Delish! Easy and so good! I’ll definitely make this one again!
Vegan Richa Support
Yay! enjoy the sequel
Juniper
Absolutely excellent lentil recipe! So flavorful & perfect paired with rice! Thank you!
Vegan Richa Support
hooray!
Caroline
Made this for dinner tonight and it’s absolutely divine. Tangy, hearty, a little spicy but also has a barbecue flavor. It’s everything you want in a meal, in one bowl! I served it over jasmine rice with pickled cucumbers and carrots.
Thank you, your recipes never miss.
Vegan Richa Support
thanks for stopping by
Amalia Benítez
Absolutely delicious,I just cook it and enjoy the different layers of taste.
Served in a bowl with yellow rice with turmeric,whole cumin seeds,garlic and laurel-
What a treat!!!
Thank you so much for the inspiration,i’ll be looking for more of your recipes for sure
Greetings from a very windy south Tenerife!!!
Vegan Richa Support
Tenerife – terrific!
Chris
OMG! I love lentils every which way and this way was off the hook delish! Thanks Richa 🙂
Vegan Richa Support
Excellent
A
The taste is amazing, but I wish it wasn’t as mushy. Is there a different type of lentil I can use that would be less mushy?
Richa
Use seitan or soycurls or chopped other vegan chickin or pork subs or even crumbled chickpeas. Chickpeas don’t get mushy but they add more flavor and you might need to add more sauce to mask
A
This is an awesome recipe & will be making it again and again. Thank you!
Richa
Yay
Caroline
Absolutely delicious! This recipe hits all the right notes: tangy, a little spicy, kinda barbecue-y and sooooo satisfyingly comforting. I made the dish exactly as written with brown lentils I made from scratch. The lentils went over jasmine rice with pickled carrots and cucumbers. Flavor, texture, everything was spot on. Your recipes never miss!
Vegan Richa Support
thank you Caroline
Matt
Absolutely delicious
Richa
Awesome!
Elena
Holy moly this is delicious! Thank you for this recipe. I used green lentils and I had a feeling they’d lose their shape but was totally ok with that! I served with short grain brown rice (with added lime juice & zest, plus salt and loads of pepper) and crisp romaine. Yum!
Vegan Richa Support
sounds perfect
Laurita
Delicious 😋 we made the dish was so good. Gad left over lentils next morning added some mushrooms and pasta 😋
Vegan Richa Support
yummy
Gary Cooper
Made this today the family loved it ,Its definitely going to be a new addition to the family menu.
Vegan Richa Support
that’s great Gary
Channing
I had just had this a Vietnamese restaurant (with seitan), so was really excited to see this on my feed 😄. I used red lentils. I knew they would be soft but for some reason I was craving them more than brown. I was careful with cooking them and they did ok. I’d probably use brown or black next time. I also lessened the lentils and added tofu and put it over a cabbage slaw salad (saved some dressing for moisture) with marinated cucumbers, pickled onions and bell peppers.
Phenomenal!!! 😋. Split into for portions for meal preparation and an the envy of the office 😉
Richa
Awesome! Try with seitan or soycurls and they’ll crisp up !
Cory
Has anyone tried this with shredded jackfruit? Thought it would great from a texture perspective.
Richa
You’d need to fry or bake the jackfruit in the marinade, else the texture and flavor is too briny. Squeeze all the brine out by squeezing in a kitchen towel. Marinate the jackfruit then bake until caramelizing on the edges, then serve with more of the marinade
Yvonne
Have restrictions on soy products
Richa
Try with coconut aminos .
Pam in Sacramento
I made this for dinner tonight – had all of the ingredients. I made it without oil because we need to be oil-free. Other than that, I followed the recipe as written. This was really, really good! Even Hubby, who is not terribly fond of lentils, said “Please put this in the rotation.” Yay! Thanks so much for a terrific dinner, Richa!
Vegan Richa Support
great to hear Pam, thanks
Maneesha
Amazing recipe yet again, Richa! I love your Asian recipes! This was soooo delicious!
Vegan Richa Support
thank youu!