I never thought I would have trouble finding fish sauce in China. Growing up, many of the Cantonese dishes my mother cooked contained fish sauce. In New York's and Boston's Chinatowns, Squid Sauce and other varieties of nam pla were staples in every market.

Even though fish sauce is hardly used in northern Chinese cooking, I didn't think it would be hard to find in Beijing. Even if Thai, Vietnamese, and other Southeast Asian cuisines aren't too popular here, various Cantonese dishes aren't hard to find. But of the 3 supermarkets in my neighborhood, none carried it. I then scoured the Lotus Center in Wudaokou, thinking that with the neighborhood's large Korean population the supermarket must carry all sorts of fish sauce.

Well, I did find it, but not in the sauce aisle. Rather, there was just one kind, amongst imported goods like mirin and shochu. Guangdong province really is like another country.

With fish sauce in hand, I was able to try the Vietnamese Caramelized Pork recipe I found in the NYTimes. It's a good recipe except that it calls for 1/4 cup of fish sauce. That is madness. The point of fish sauce is to use just enough to bring out the dish's other flavors. The first time around I lessened the amount and still my apartment reeked for hours.

Below is my adjusted recipe with so your apartment will be spared. The pork turns a beautiful rich brown color, and is so tempting in the pot I had to remember to wait until it was fully cooked to taste.

Vietnamese Caramelized Pork (Thit kho to)

Adapted from The New York Times, which adapted from Michael and Thao Huynh
Serves 4

350 mL (1 1/2 cups) sugar
900 g (about 2 pounds) pork belly or butt, sliced into thin 3cm-long strips
15 mL (1 tablespoon) salt
3 mL (about 1/2 teaspoon) freshly ground black pepper
A few drops fish sauce
2 medium-size cloves of garlic, minced
5 mL (1 teaspoon) sesame oil
2-3 large shallots, sliced
4 scallions, thinly sliced, green part only
Rice for serving.

1. Line the bottom of a medium- to large-sized sauce pot with one cup sugar. Place over low heat. When the sugar melts and starts to turn golden, add pork and stir until coated. Raise the heat to medium low. (The sugar will become sticky and may harden, but don't worry. It will re-melt as it cooks, forming a sauce.)

2. Stir in remaining sugar, salt, pepper, and fish sauce. (Careful not to overdo the fish sauce!) Cover and cook 2 minutes. Uncover, stir in garlic and sesame oil. Lower the heat and simmer to reduce sauce for about 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Stir in shallots and and cook until translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. The sauce should have a thick consistency now and the pork should be caramelized. If that's not the case, raise the heat and until the sauce is further reduce.

4. Serve on top of rice, and sprinkle with scallions to garnish.