← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 8 dried long red chillies, seeded and soaked in hot water for 10 min
• 2 Lemongrass, white part only, finely sliced
• 4 cm piece Galangal, chopped
• 4 Shallot, chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Shrimp paste (belacan)
• 1 tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp hung lay powder, or garam masala
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 kg skinless pork belly, cut into 4 cm chunks
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp tamarind purée
• 50 g Palm sugar, grated
• 1 tbsp sweet dark soy sauce
• 2 tsp Fish sauce
• 500 ml Water
• 4 cm piece young ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
• 10 pickled garlic cloves, plus 1 tbsp of the pickling liquid
• 2 tbsp roasted peanuts (optional)

Method

1. Drain the chillies and pound or blend them with the rest of the paste ingredients into a smooth, thick paste, adding a spoonful of the soaking water if the blender needs it.
2. Rub half the paste all over the pork and leave it to marinate for 30 min (or overnight in the fridge).
3. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium heat and fry the rest of the paste for 2–3 min, until it smells rich and spicy. Add the pork and stir for 5 min, until the outside is no longer pink.
4. Add the tamarind, palm sugar, sweet soy, fish sauce and water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer very gently for 1 hour, stirring now and then.
5. Add the ginger, pickled garlic and pickling liquid, then simmer uncovered for 30–40 min more, until the pork is meltingly tender and the sauce has reduced to a glossy, reddish-brown gravy.
6. Taste and balance with more tamarind, sugar or fish sauce; it should be sour-sweet first, then salty. Scatter over the peanuts and serve with sticky rice or jasmine rice.

Tips

• Like most braises it tastes even better the next day; chill it, lift off the fat, then reheat.
• Sweet soy sauce contains wheat; use extra palm sugar and a little tamari for a gluten-free version.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Marion’s Kitchen ImportFood Hot Thai Kitchen