Kai Pa Lo (Thai Stewed Pork Belly with Eggs) is one of my favorite Thai dishes growing up. It is sweet with a dark caramel sweeten soy base sauce and a touch of chinese spices. Because it is one of those Thai comfort dishes that is not spicy, kids love it too. We usually eat with Jasmin rice, which you can keep it in the fridge for days, the longer the better!
We ate a lot of eggs growing up in Thailand. At one point of my life, my sister and I successfully convinced our parents to get chicks. I remember we went on a summer beach vacation in Hua Hin, which is a city in the south, close to my dad’s hometown. We went for a morning walk on the beach and somehow wondered into a chicken farm. There were a bunch of the cutest chicks and we got to play with them for hours. Next thing you know, we were back to Bangkok with a box of chicks in our front yard. At that time, we had a wonderful dog named Mungkood (means Mangosteen as a Thai fruit), 7 chickens, 4 rabbits and a bunch of beta fish. Our home was literally like a zoo!
Our chicks grew up into hens and roosters and laid eggs, lots of eggs. Nothing is better than farm or in this case “house” fresh eggs. They were small hens, so their eggs were little, but the yolks were the most gorgeous yellow color, so rich and delish. Anyways, we fried them, boiled them, made omelette and of course, we made Kai Pa Lo (Thai Stewed Pork Belly with Eggs). I like pork belly, but you can use regular pork or even chicken wings. It may sounds weird, but trust me, you have to try it and if you don’t like it, at least you tried. ha ha.
For the protein part, you’ll need some hard boiled eggs and pork belly (or regular pork or chicken wings) cut into bite-size chunks. I feel adventurous today, so I’m gonna use quail eggs
For the spices, you’ll need cinnamon sticks, star anise and pepper corns.
And for the herbs, no Thai food is completed without garlic and this dish is no exception. You will also need some cilantro roots or stems. Chop them and mix together. Keep cilantro leaves for garnish at the end.
For seasoning, there’s brown sugar (or use palm sugar if you can find it), light soy sauce (or Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
Let’s cook some food!
On medium heat, add vegetable oil to a pot. Once it is hot, add garlic/cilantro roots (or stems) mixture. Stir for a minute.
Add pork belly, stir until the meat gets slightly cooked.
Add the spices: cinnamon, star anise, pepper corns, sugar and a cup of water. Mix it together, cover the pot with a lid and let it cook for 15 minutes.
Add light soy sauce (or Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce
Bring everything to a boil and add the eggs.
Cover the pot, let is simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Garnish with some cilantro leaves. Serve hot with some Jasmin rice.
Hope you give this Kai Pa Lo (Thai Stewed Pork Belly with Eggs) a try, the recipe card is below.
- 48 quail eggs (or 12 hard boiled eggs), peeled
- 1 lb. pork belly, cut into bite-size
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 4 star anise
- 1 teaspoon pepper corn
- 3 cloves garlic
- 3 cilantro roots or stems
- ¼ cup brown sugar (or palm sugar)
- ¼ cup light soy sauce (or Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce)
- 1 tablespoon Dark Sweet Soy Sauce
- 32 oz. chicken broth or stock
- 1 tbs vegetable (or Canola) oil
- 1 cup water
- Chop cilantro roots (or stems), garlic cloves together.
- On medium heat, add vegetable oil to a pot. Once it is hot, add garlic/cilantro roots (or stems) mixture. Stir for a minute.
- Add pork belly, stir until the meat gets slightly cooked.
- Add the spices: cinnamon, star anise, pepper corns, sugar and a cup of water. Mix it together, cover the pot with a lid and let it cook for 15 minutes.
- Add light soy sauce (or Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce), Dark Sweet Soy Sauce and chicken broth or chicken stock. Bring everything to a boil and add the eggs.
- Cover the pot, let is simmer for at least 30 minutes.
- Garnish with some cilantro leaves. Serve hot with some Jasmin rice.
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