Phrik Gaeng Panaeng Moo Krob — Pork Belly Panang Variant / พริกแกงพะแนงหมูกรอบ

Ingredients

• For the paste
• 18 g dried red bird's eye chillies, soaked in warm water, drained
• 8 g kaffir lime rind, increased 30–40% over standard panang proportion; finely sliced
• 20 g roasted peanuts, reduced proportion — ground to a paste
• 30 g shallots, sliced
• 20 g garlic, sliced
• 15 g lemongrass, tender inner stalk only, sliced
• 8 g galangal, peeled, sliced
• 5 g dried shrimp paste (kapi), roasted
• For the curry
• 600 g pork belly (moo krob), braised until tender, cooled, portioned
• 400 ml coconut milk, full-fat; upper thick cream reserved separately
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar, added late in reduction only
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, centre rib removed, finely sliced; for finishing

Method

1. 1
   Pound the paste ingredients in a granite mortar in order of fibre and hardness: dried chillies first, then kaffir lime rind, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, roasted peanuts, and finally shrimp paste, working each addition until fully incorporated before adding the next, so that each ingredient is broken to a paste before a softer or wetter one loosens the mass and stalls the pounding. The paste is ready when the mass is homogeneous, dark red, and pulls cleanly from the mortar walls without visible fibre.
2. 2
   Spoon the thick upper cream from the coconut milk into a wok set over medium heat and cook until it bubbles and the surface shows a faint sheen of separated fat — the taek man stage — because the cream must split before the paste goes in, otherwise it steams rather than fries. Add the paste and fry, pressing and folding continuously, driving it further than you would for a standard panang: the paste must look dry, grainy, and visibly separated from the fat, the fragrance shifting from raw chilli to a deep, roasted, nutty aroma — this is where the dish lives or dies, as underfrying leaves a raw paste flavour that no amount of later reduction will correct.
3. 3
   Add the remaining coconut milk in two additions, stirring to incorporate the fried paste fully after each, so the paste dissolves evenly into the milk rather than remaining in clumps. Season with fish sauce, then bring to a steady simmer.
4. 4
   Add the braised, portioned pork belly and reduce over medium to medium-high heat, stirring to prevent scorching. Hold back the palm sugar for now, so the sauce reduces and concentrates its savour before sweetness is introduced — sugar added too early can caramelise against the wok wall and turn bitter before the liquid is gone. Continue until the liquid is nearly fully absorbed and the sauce clings to the pork rather than pooling in the wok.
5. 5
   Add the palm sugar only now, when almost all liquid is gone, so it melts directly into the paste coating and glazes the pork rather than dissolving into surplus liquid and disappearing into the sauce. Fold to coat evenly, taste, and adjust with fish sauce; the finish is correct when the pork is glazed rather than sauced and the wok shows only a thin, glossy film.
6. 6
   Remove from heat and scatter finely sliced kaffir lime leaves over the surface. Plate immediately, as the glaze sets as it cools.