Thai Style Braised Pork Belly

Here's a little secret I will like to share. No, not a dirty secret, more like many fatty layers of goodness, in a big slab of pork belly. I will not admit to liking this artery clogging cut of meat in public. It just seem too unhealthy a thing to let people know when some of my friends do not even eat pork.

A popular way to cook pork belly is to braise it in soy sauce or brine with spices. It is a method  commonly used in East and South East Asia. Different parts of China have variations to the braising liquid. The Japanese add dashi stock and sake. Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore like to use galangal, five spice powder and usually toss in some dry chillies for extra spiciness.

The recipe here is a Thai version and one of my favourite. It features the most basic of Thai flavours: pepper coriander paste and fish sauce. The gravy is sweeter due to the generous use of palm sugar while the melt in the mouth pork belly is savory, sweet, peppery and garlicky. If no one is there to stop me, I would have eaten all the pork belly together with 2 big bowls of gravy covered rice and really hate myself for the rest of the month.

Thai Style Braised Pork Belly
Ingredients:
500g pork belly with skin, cut into thick pieces
2 tbsp oil
½ tbsp white peppercorns
1 tbsp coriander roots (if unavailable, use the stem)
1 tbsp garlic
4 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp palm sugar (if unavailable, use dark brown sugar) 
3 cups water

Method:
Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, grind the white peppercorns, coriander roots and garlic into a fine paste.

Heat a sturdy pan with a lid, add oil and lightly brown the pork belly over medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside.

Using the same pan, stir fry the pepper and coriander paste over low heat till fragrant. Add the fish sauce, dark soy sauce, palm sugar and ¼ cup water. Turn the heat up to medium and bring the sauce to a boil. Add the pork belly, stirring to coat every piece of meat with the sauce.

Add the remaining water to the pan, bring the sauce to boil again. Turn down to low heat and half cover the pan. Simmer until the liquid is reduced by half and the pork belly is tender.  This will take about 1 to 1½ hour.

The sauce can be used on other cuts of pork, chicken, eggs, pressed tofu and deep fried tofu.

Comments

[stef]

yum, that looks really goooood.

[umami]

Oh yum, husband was hinting that it would be a good idea to braise pork for him to eat. Your recipe is very timely indeed.

[Cindy Fredericka]

Boy! Your pics & description makes one salivate man! I enjoy reading your blogs. :) Thks for info, I didn't realise sake was added in the Jap version of braised pork.
I'm a saucy person. Hence, I'll ALWAYS go for the sauce & pinch on de lean meat.(Ya, not a fan of fatty meat)
Yes! I love to pour de sauce over my rice OR dip my bun in the sauce & eat. Yums!

[Reid]

Hi ST,

I won't admit to liking pork belly in public either. Well, maybe I might make an exception for this! =P

[stef]

belly pork is the most flavorful and i think that an occasional venture into it is fine. i need to try this recipe. it sounds really scrummy!

[MrsT]

Hey..ST,
Unfortunately i am not a fan.. :(

[jcheng]

Hi ST,

What are coriander roots?

Is it just the stems/roots of the yim sai (in cantonese),i.e. cilantro.

[ST]

Hi jcheng,
yes, coriander is cilantro ie yim sai.

[cherub]

oh... it looks very very tempting that i may go n try cooking it later.

[Midge]

Hullo!

I just tried out your recipe - and it's just plain wonderful!

My kid brother said it was a tad strong, but everyone else adored its saucy spiciness. It's rich, but not that rich.

Still: it's a real guilty pleasure for me as I won't admit to liking pork belly in public!

[Reggie]

Aloha ST from Hawaii!
Great recipe thanks!! beautiful pics!! I love red-cooked belly pork!! but now a Thai version?! YUM!! Can't wait to try it! :)

[Janet]

Very good, whole family enjoyed, will do again

[Migar Roth]

Used 4 kilo slab of pork and did this for a Christmas lunch here in Queensland Australia. Chilled overnight then reheated, even better!

Don't feel guilty, heart attacks have only become a problem since people stopped eating natural saturated fats and switched to processed veg oils and trans fats such as margarine.

[June]

Hi, tried this recipe tonight and I love love love it. I added eggs and tau-pok in it. Reminds me a lot of those days when I was working in BKK. Loved their braised pork rice. Yum! Thanks for sharing

[Jenn K.]

Hihi,

I just discovered your website a few nights ago. The pics you take are so mouth watering. Just wanted to let you know that I am making this dish tonight. It's simmering right now in the kitchen. Can't wait to try it.

[YY]

Will it be too sweet?

[melika]

Thank for this recipe, I found it by googling. Just bought a slab of pork belly from the asian market and was looking for a recipe in the internet. Hope mine turns out!