Gaeng Hung Lay - Northern Thai Braised Pork Curry
Gaeng Hung Lay is an iconic curry of northern Thailand. Pork belly and spare ribs are braised in an aromatic and rich curry sauce full of spices, accented with fresh ginger.s
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- No separate cook time
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8-10 grams dried mild red chilies, plus some spicier ones to taste (see note)
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped shallots
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bottom half only, finely chopped
- 5 slices galangal, chopped
- 2-inch pc turmeric, chopped (or 1 ½ tsp powdered turmeric)
- 2 tablespoons hung lay curry powder (recipe below, or use garam masala)
- 1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi)
- 1 lb (450 g) pork belly, cut into big chunks
- 1 lb (450 g) pork spare rib tips, chopped
- ¼ cup tamarind paste, store bought or homemade (see note 3)
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, or palm sugar
- 1-2 tsp black soy sauce or dark soy sauce (optional, you can add more or less to get the colour you like)
- 1 ½ - 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 head garlic (peeled, but keep cloves whole, cut any extra large cloves in half)
- ½ cup pearl onions or Thai small shallots (optional)
- ¼-⅓ cup julienned ginger
- 1 8-inch piece cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 Tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 pc star anise
- 3 pc whole clove
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 5 pc white or green cardamom pods
Instructions
- 1
For whole spices, toast them in a dry saute pan until aromatic and darkened slightly. You can combine spices of similar size and toast them at the same time.
- 2
Then combine all spices in a coffee grinder or blender and grind into a powder.
- 3
Once made, store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place. You will have more than you need for this recipe, so feel free to use it as rubs, marinades, or on vegetables!
- 4
Grind dried chilies into a powder in a coffee/spice grinder, removing the seeds if you want to reduce the heat.
- 5
If using an immersion blender: combine lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste, and blend into a paste. Add the ground dried chilies and spices and blend just to mix.
- 6
If using a mortar and pestle: start by pounding lemongrass, galangal and turmeric into a fine paste. Add shallots and garlic and pound until fine. Then add the shrimp paste and ground chilies and spices and pound to mix.
- 7
Preheat a wok or large pot over medium heat, do not add any oil as there will be a lot of pork fat rendered. Add the pork belly pieces in one layer, skin facing sideways, and without crowding the pan, and let them sear until well browned on 2-4 sides, depending on how much patience you have. They will stick at first but once they are browned they will release from the pan.
- 8
Add the pork ribs and give it a quick toss. Then add the curry paste and toss to coat all pieces of pork well. Once the paste is well distributed and it has had a couple of minutes to fry in the pork fat, add water just until it barely covers the pork.
- 9
Add fish sauce, black soy sauce, tamarind and sugar, and simmer gently for 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork tender. Towards the last 20 minutes, check the amount of liquid, and if it's very soupy, uncover the pot to allow liquid to evaporate. You want the sauce to be thick and rich in the end.
- 10
Once pork is tender add julienned ginger, whole garlic cloves and pearl onions and simmer for another 15-20 minutes until the garlic is tender. You can add a little more water at any point if it gets to dry.
- 11
Taste and adjust seasoning.
- 12
Garnish with extra fresh julienned ginger if desired and serve with rice, enjoy! This curry can also be made in advance and kept in the fridge, and it'll keep well in the fridge for at least a week.