Five-Spice Eggs and Pork Belly Stew (Instant Pot or Stovetop)
A popular stew in Thailand that is a favourite amongst kids and adults alike. Tender braised pork belly and hard boiled eggs that have absorbed the flavourful five-spice broth. Perfect with jasmine rice.
- Prep time
- --
- Cook time
- Not listed
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 cinnamon sticks (about 8 inches total)
- 8 pc cloves
- 2 pc star anise
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp sichuan peppercorns
- 3 cilantro roots or 10 cilantro stems
- A piece of cheesecloth big enough to make a spice bag, or use premade bag as shown in the video
- 1½ lb pork belly, 1.5-inch chunks
- ½-1 tsp salt
- 60g palm sugar (⅓ cup packed)
- 5 cups unsalted pork or chicken stock, 4 cups if using IP
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp Golden Mountain Sauce, or sub soy sauce (see Guide to Soy Sauce video)
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 2-3 tsp black soy sauce or dark soy sauce
- ½ tsp white pepper, ground
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 6-8 eggs (as many as you like, about 1-2 per person)
- 8 tofu puffs, halved
- Jasmine rice for serving
Instructions
- 1
Crush cinnamon sticks just until they break into smaller pieces, then add them to a dry saute pan along with star anise, cloves, coriander seed and Sichuan peppercorns.
- 2
Toast over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the coriander seeds start to darken slightly. Remove from heat and place on the cheesecloth or spice bag.
- 3
Add cilantro stems or roots then tie the cheesecloth to make a bag.
- 4
Stovetop Method
- 5
Optional step for extra flavour if you have time: In a heavy-bottomed pot, add a little oil to coat the bottom then heat on high. Toss pork belly in ½ tsp salt, then sear until browned on at least two sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off any excess fat collected in the pot but do not wash the pot.
- 6
In the same pot add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Immediately add stock to stop the cooking; the sugar will harden, this is okay.
- 7
Add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic and the spice bag. If you didn't sear the pork, add the ½ tsp salt at this stage.
- 8
Add the pork and simmer gently for 2 - 2.5 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork-tender.
- 9
Meanwhile, cook the eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Once done place in a bowl of cold water to cool. Peel the eggs; be gentle as the yolks are still soft.
- 10
Once pork is done, add eggs and tofu puffs and simmer another 8 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
- 11
Let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, and preferably one day in advance so the eggs can have a chance to absorb the flavour.
- 12
Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!
- 13
Instant Pot Method
- 14
Optional step for extra flavour if you have time: In a heavy-bottomed pot, add a little oil to coat the bottom then heat on high. Toss pork belly in ½ tsp salt, then sear until browned on at least two sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off any excess fat collected in the pot but do not wash the pot.
- 15
In the same pot add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Immediately add half of the stock to stop the cooking; the sugar will harden, this is okay.
- 16
Add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic and the spice bag. If you didn't sear the pork, add the ½ tsp salt at this stage. Bring to a boil then transfer to the IP.
- 17
Add the pork into the IP and also the remaining stock, then cook on "pressure cook" mode on "high" for 20 minutes. Let it natural release for a minimum of 15 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. You can place a wet cold towel on the metal part of the lid to help speed up the cooling down process.
- 18
Meanwhile, cook eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl of cold water. Peel the eggs; be gentle as the yolks are still soft.
- 19
Once pork is done, open the IP lid and add eggs and tofu puffs. Turn the IP on "saute" mode on "medium," then simmer the eggs and tofu for another 8 minutes (start timing from when the soup starts to bubble).
- 20
Remove the inner pot from the IP, taste and adjust seasoning if needed, and let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. I remove the inner pot because I found that when I let the soup sit in the IP, even with the machine off the heat retention is too high and the eggs continued to overcook.
- 21
Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!