Meat, Grills & Lauk · Vietnam

How Many Calories in Thit Kho Trung?

Also known as Thịt kho trứng, Thịt kho tàu, Thịt kho hột vịt, Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Belly with Eggs.

Cubes of pork belly simmered with duck or chicken eggs in coconut water, fish sauce and nuoc mau caramel until the fat turns to jelly and the sauce goes dark and sweet. The Tet dish in the south, and the Tuesday dish at every com binh dan tray, 25,000 to 40,000 dong with rice.

460kcal / 1 serving (3 pieces belly, 1 egg)
A normal com binh dan serving of thit kho trung, about 100g of braised belly and one duck egg with sauce, is around 460 calories. Long Chau gives 350 to 550 per portion and works a family pot of 500g belly and 5 eggs out at about 487 per person. The belly is 300 of it, the egg 130, and the caramel sauce 30 to 40.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 serving (3 pieces belly, 1 egg) (180g)AmountPer 100g
Calories460 kcal256 kcal
Protein26 g14 g
Carbs10 g6 g
Fat34 g19 g

Where the calories come from

Braised pork belly100g
300 kcal
Duck egg (1)70g
130 kcal
Caramel and coconut water sauce40g
35 kcal
Shallots, garlic, pepper5g
5 kcal

The real talk

Pork belly is 30 to 35 percent fat raw, and thit kho is cooked slowly enough that the fat softens rather than renders out, so you eat all of it. Long Chau's numbers: 100g of lean pork is 145 calories, belly is 260, and the fatty cuts used for kho are up to 394. A com binh dan scoop is 3 cubes, around 100g, at 300 calories once the sauce has gone in. Ask for nac (lean) pieces and the same scoop is 170.

The egg is the part people miscount. Thit kho in the south uses hot vit, duck eggs, at about 130 calories each, against 78 for a chicken egg and 14 for a quail egg. A serving with 2 duck eggs is 590. The sauce is coconut water (Coca Cola at some quan), fish sauce and 20g or so of caramelised sugar for the pot, so 30 to 40 calories per person, but it soaks into the rice and pushes you to eat more of it.

The meal is the problem more than the dish. Thit kho trung at 460, a com binh dan plate of rice at 300 and the free bowl of canh is 800 calories for lunch, and a lot of that is fat, 34g in the pork alone. Over Tet, when the pot sits on the stove for 3 days and people eat from it at every meal alongside banh tet, the 460 becomes 1,400 a day from one dish. That is why everyone comes back from Tet 2kg heavier.

How the portions compare

280 kcal
Lean pork, 1 chicken egg
460 kcal
Standard, belly and 1 duck egg
590 kcal
Big serving, 2 duck eggs

Thit Kho Trung variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Thit kho nac (lean)280 kcalShoulder cuts, 1 chicken egg
Thit kho trung cut350 kcalBelly with 4 quail eggs
Thit kho trung (standard)460 kcalBelly, 1 duck egg
Thit kho tau Tet portion590 kcal2 duck eggs, fattier cuts
Thit kho with rice and canh800 kcalThe com binh dan lunch

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in thit kho trung?
About 460 for a serving with 100g of belly and one duck egg. Long Chau puts a portion at 350 to 550, with the range depending on how fatty the pork is and how many eggs you take.
How many calories in one piece of thit kho?
Around 100 for a 35g cube of belly with sauce, or 55 to 60 for a lean piece the same size.
Is thit kho trung healthy?
It is high in protein at 26g per serving but also 34g of fat, mostly saturated, plus sugar and salt in the sauce. Fine once a week with a lot of vegetables; not a daily dish if you are trying to lose weight.
Thit kho trung or ca kho to, which is lighter?
Ca kho to at 300 for a clay pot versus 460 for thit kho trung. Fish is leaner than belly, and both come with the same rice.

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Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical street stall or quan serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on Long Chau (350 to 550 per portion; 487 per person from a 500g belly, 5 egg pot; pork 145 to 394 per 100g by cut); component estimate at 460. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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