Wendell's Vietnamese Pork and Egg

 Wendell found this recipe at Kathy Y.L. Chan's site Onolicious Hawaii.  It was super ono.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch pieces. (Can also use pork belly or a mix of both cuts)
• 3 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 8 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 2 cups coconut water
• 5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Instructions

1. Make the caramel syrup: In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, rice vinegar, and 1 tablespoon water. Stir till the sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. 
2. Continue to cook without stirring till the mixture turns a deep golden color, about 4 minutes (pick up the saucepan and swirl it around if some spots turn darker than others). Turn off the heat, but keep the saucepan on the stove. Let it caramelize for 1 more minute. 
3. Remove from the stove, add 3 tablespoons of water and stir to dissolve/mix the caramel. Set aside.
4. Brown the pork: In a large saucepan, brown all sides of the pork over medium-high heat. 
5. Once browned, add the onions, garlic, black peppercorns, fish sauce, coconut water, and caramel syrup (prepared in Step 1-3). Stir and then bring to a boil. 
6. Skim any scum that floats to the top. Turn the heat to low and place the lid on the saucepan. Let simmer for 2 hours. 
7. Remove the lid and let cook for another 30 minutes on low heat.
8. To remove excess fat from the sauce, take out all the pork pieces and place them in a bowl (cover the bowl so that the pork doesn't dry out). Let the sauce in the saucepan cool, and then refrigerate till the fat hardens. Spoon off and discard the fat. 
9. Add the pork back in to the saucepan. Slide in the eggs. Turn the heat to medium and cook for another 30 minutes. Add chili peppers if you'd like. 
10. Eat hot, with lots of rice!