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Five Spice Pork Belly and Egg Stew
5 Spice Pork Belly and Egg Stew
Kai Palo is a Thai stew where pork belly, hard boiled eggs, and fried tofu are braised in a 5 spice pork broth. Instead of adding 5 spice powder, the whole spices that are used to make 5 spice are dry toasted then wrapped in a bag made of cheesecloth. The overall preparation of this stew couldn’t be easier. Sear the pork belly. Melt the palm sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 2 hours. Add in the eggs and tofu the last 10 minutes of cooking. Once the stew is finished simmering, it is important to let the stew sit for 30 minutes. This will allow the hard boiled eggs to absorb the 5 spice stock.
Ingredients
Spice Bag
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 star anise
- 8 whole cloves
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp cilantro stems
- cheesecloth or muslin bag
5 Spice Stew
- 1 1/2 lbs pork belly 1 1/2” pieces
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup palm sugar
- 5 cups pork stock
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 8 hard boiled eggs
- 1 brick extra firm tofu cut into 1” cubes, fried
Instructions
- Dry toast the whole spices in a pan for a couple of minutes.
- Put the whole spices along with the cilantro stems in the center of a piece of cheesecloth.
- Tie it up.
- Heat up a stock pot over medium high heat. Add in the pork belly pieces. Season with salt. Sear on all sides. Remove from the pot.
- Add in the palm sugar. Let melt and caramelize in the pot for a minute or two.
- Add in the stock, soy sauces, oyster sauce, white pepper, garlic, and pork belly slices. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low. Simmer for 2 hours.
- Add in the hard boiled eggs and fried tofu. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the soup sit for 30 minutes before serving.
Swimming Rama
Swimming Rama
Swimming Rama is a Thai peanut curry sauce ladled over a bed of steamed rice, spinach, and either pork or chicken. For being a simple dish, it kind of has a lot of steps. The process of marinating the meat in the cornstarch, water, and oil is called ”velveting.” The meat absorbs all of the marinade, making it extra moist. It is then blanched for a minute or two. This technique is used in most Asian restaurants. It allows the chef to have large quantity of meat ready to go, cutting back on cooking time. If you’ve ever eaten at a Chinese buffet, most of the meat in various dishes is prepared this way.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork loin sliced 1/8” thick
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 2 tbsp palm sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts
- 1 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 lb spinach
Instructions
- Mix together the fish sauce, vegetable oil, water, and cornstarch. Add in the pork, making sure that all of the slices are evenly coated. Let marinate for 30 minutes.
- In a pot over medium heat, mix together the coconut milk and curry paste. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind concentrate. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- In a spice grinder, add the peanuts and sesame seeds.
- Coarsley grind.
- Add the peanut mixture to the curry sauce. Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.
- The sauce should be fairly thick.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the spinach for 20 seconds. Drain.
- In the same pot of water, blanch the pork for 1 minute.
- Assembly time!
- Place a serving of the spinach on a plate. Top the spinach with the pork. Ladle over the peanut curry sauce. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
Java Rice
Java Rice
Here’s another great recipe using up day old white rice. This java rice gets its color from turmeric and ground annatto. Pair this rice with any type of grilled meat or fish.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 red bell pepper finely diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper finely diced
- 1/4 cup shallots diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground annato
- 4 cups day old cooked white rice
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the bell peppers, shallots, and garlic for 5 minutes.
- Add the turmeric and ground annatto. Cook for a minute.
- Stir in the rice, breaking up all the clumps. Mix thoroughly. Add in the soy sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
