Dish
Khor Sach Chrouk
ខសាច់ជ្រូក
Slow-braised pork belly stewed with ginger, pepper and palm sugar caramel.
Khor Sach Chrouk (ខសាច់ជ្រូក) is slow-braised pork belly stewed with ginger, pepper and palm sugar caramel.[1][2] Cambodians call it khor sach chrouk or kaw sach chrouk. Khor means stew, and sach chrouk means pork meat.[2]
Cultural context
A longer Khmer name, khor sach chrouk knhei mrech skor thnot sondek dei, describes the whole dish.[2] In another form, small pieces of marinated pork and boiled eggs are braised in coconut juice.[1] It may be eaten at breakfast, lunch or dinner.[1]
In rural Cambodia the dish may be cooked outdoors over an open fire or on a clay brazier. It is traditionally made in a clay pot, and rural cooks today also use clay or tin pots.[2] A small or medium pot serves a family meal, and a large pot is used for special occasions, for which villagers may keep pigs.[2]
Cambodians serve vegetables on the side rather than cooking them into the stew.[2] The dish is eaten with steamed jasmine rice and braised bok choy or other Asian greens, or with stir-fried greens such as morning glory.[2][3]
Ingredients and preparation
The Grantourismo version, by Terence Carter, uses pork belly, ginger, black pepper, palm sugar, star anise and peanuts.[2] The palm sugar caramelizes the pork. Ginger and pepper give it a sweet, floral scent, and roasted peanuts add crunch against the soft meat.[2][4] The pork is brined overnight with salt, sugar, star anise and cinnamon, then cut into 5-centimeter (2-inch) squares. It is marinated for an hour with garlic, black pepper, ginger, fish sauce and soy sauce, then stir-fried with palm sugar, garlic and peanuts before the stock goes in.[2] It is garnished with more ginger cut into matchsticks.[4] A Dutch oven suits the dish because its wide base spreads the heat evenly.[4]
The dish is closer to a braise than to a soup or an ordinary stew. The cooking liquid reduces to a thick sauce and does not cover the pork.[2]
Other recipes build the dish on eggs. Chunks of pork belly and hard-boiled eggs are slow-cooked in a dark, savory broth of caramelized palm sugar, fish sauce and black pepper, and the eggs take on its sweet and salty taste.[5] The Flavourfully Good recipe uses pork shoulder and pig feet instead of pork belly.[6] The palm sugar is first caramelized with a little water. Garlic, star anise, salt, black pepper and fish sauce are stirred in until the caramel turns golden brown.[6] The pork is turned in the caramel until it is no longer pink, and then the eggs and more water go in.[6] The fat and foam are skimmed, and the covered pot simmers for about an hour until the meat is tender.[6] That version is served with rice or rice porridge.[6]
History and origins
Stews are among the oldest foods eaten in Cambodia, along with rice and soups.[2] In the past the dish might have been made with wild boar, and today cooks use domesticated pork.[2]
Wikipedia gives khor sach chrouk as the Cambodian name for the Vietnamese dish thịt kho tàu, caramelized pork and eggs. In that account the dish began in Vietnam and spread to nearby countries, including Cambodia and Laos, and it belongs to Cambodian, Laotian and Vietnamese cooking.[1]
Regional and household variations
Khor names a wider Khmer family of braised dishes, made with different meats and seasonings.[7] Khor cherng chrouk uses pig's trotters and whole eggs with caramelized palm sugar, fish sauce and black Kampot pepper.[7] The family also includes versions made with shrimp and with frog.[7]
Grantourismo Travels sets the dish apart from khor cheung chrouk, a Cambodian pork leg stew, and from Cambodian sweet pork belly with boiled eggs, which is a different preparation.[2] It also compares the dish with braised pork belly from Japan (butaniku no kakuni), Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Shanghai.[2]
Preparations and recipes
- Terence Carter, Grantourismo
- Brined pork belly marinated with ginger and pepper, caramelised in palm sugar and simmered with peanuts and stock.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wikipedia: Khor sach chrouk
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Grantourismo Travels, Braised Pork Belly Recipe with Ginger, Pepper, and Palm Sugar (2020-09-17)
- ↑ Grantourismo Travels, Sunday Dinner Alternatives to Roasts (2025-06-15)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Grantourismo Travels, Recipes with Ginger to Settle Your Stomach
- ↑ Guides and Stories, Best Food in Cambodia: 35 Popular Dishes (2025-08-08)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Flavourfully Good, Caramelized Pork with Eggs: Pork Stew (2022-05-23)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Hello Angkor, An Uncommon Guide to Cambodian Cuisine (2019-08-15)