Gaeng Hung Lay - Northern Pork Belly Curry แกงฮังเล

Step 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.

Step 2

Then combine all spices in a coffee grinder or blender and grind into a powder.

Step 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!

Step 4

Grind dried chilies into a powder in a coffee/spice grinder, removing the seeds if you want to reduce the heat.

Step 5

If using an immersion blender: combine lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste, and blend into a paste. Add the ground dry spices and blend just to mix.

Step 6

If using a mortar and pestle: start by pounding lemongrass and galangal into a fine paste. Then add turmeric and pound until fine, then add shallots and garlic until fine. Then add the shrimp paste and ground dry spices and pound to mix.

Step 7

If using a regular blender: combine lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste, and blend into a paste. If it’s too thick you can add a little water to get it going, but only add as much as needed. Pour

Step 8

Add the dried chilies and the hung lay curry powder and blend just until well combined.

Step 9

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, and without crowding the pan, and let them sear until well browned on 4 sides. They will stick at first but once they are browned they will release from the pan.

Step 10

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.

Step 11

Add fish sauce, black soy sauce, tamarind and sugar, and cook for 1 hour 45 mins to 2 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork tender.

Step 12

Towards the last 20 minutes, check the amount of liquid, and if it’s very soupy, uncover the pot completely to allow liquid to evaporate. You want the sauce to be thick and rich in the end.

Step 13

Once pork is tender add julienned ginger, whole garlic 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.

Step 14

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Step 15

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.