← Nouns Cooking · Thai

Ingredients

• 300 g Pork belly, cut into 2 cm pieces
• 500 g pork spare ribs, cut into short pieces (optional)
• 2 l pork or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 6 cloves Garlic, minced
• 3 cm piece Ginger, sliced
• 4 tbsp Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew)
• 6 dried shiitake, soaked and halved
• 1 Daikon radish, peeled and cut into chunks
• ½ white cabbage, cut into large chunks
• ½ Chinese leaf, cut into large pieces
• 200 g Chinese kale, gai choy or kale, roughly chopped
• 3 celery sticks (or Chinese celery), cut into 4 cm lengths
• 200 g fried tofu, halved
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Palm sugar
• ½ tsp White pepper

Method

1. Bring the stock to the boil in a big pot, add the pork belly and ribs and simmer for 20 min, skimming off any foam.
2. Meanwhile heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat and fry the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then add the soybean paste and stir for 1 minute until fragrant. Scrape it into the pot.
3. Add the mushrooms, daikon, both cabbages, kale, celery and tofu, plus the fish sauce, dark soy, palm sugar and pepper. Push everything under the liquid.
4. Cover and simmer gently for 45–50 min, stirring now and then, until the vegetables are completely soft and the broth is deeply savoury.
5. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve with rice. It is even better the next day.

Tips

• Jab chai means “mixed vegetables”: use whatever greens are in the fridge.
• Make it vegetarian with vegetable stock, extra tofu and soy sauce instead of fish sauce.

Sources

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

ImportFood Eating Thai Food Hot Thai Kitchen