Recipe
Khor Sach Chrouk (recipe)
Brined pork belly marinated with ginger and pepper, caramelised in palm sugar and simmered with peanuts and stock.
This khor sach chrouk recipe makes Cambodian pork belly braised with palm sugar, ginger, black pepper, star anise and peanuts.[1] Terence Carter published it on Grantourismo Travels. In Khmer, khor (also written kaw) means stew and sach chrouk means pork. The cooking liquid does not cover the pork and cooks down to a thick sauce, which makes the dish a braise.[1]
Most Cambodian cooks do not brine the pork belly; this recipe brines it overnight. It makes four servings, with one hour of preparation, two hours of cooking and a day of brining.[1]
Ingredients
- 500 g pork belly
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 25 g garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
- 1 tbsp ground black pepper
- 50 g ginger, sliced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 30 g palm sugar
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 150 g raw peanuts, peeled
- 1 tbsp ginger, cut into thin batons, to garnish
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp roasted peanuts, optional, to garnish
Method
- The salt and sugar are dissolved in hot water with the star anise and cinnamon, and the brine is left to cool.
- The pork belly is submerged in the brine overnight.
- The next day the pork is drained, dried and cut into 5 cm (2 in) squares.
- It is marinated with the fish sauce, soy sauce, sliced ginger and ground pepper for about one hour.
- The palm sugar is stir-fried with a little water in a Dutch oven for three to five minutes.
- The garlic, the pork with its juices and the raw peanuts are added and stirred until coated in the caramel.
- The stock goes in, and the pot simmers covered for about 60 minutes.
- The dark soy sauce is added, and the pork simmers uncovered for another 60 minutes, with more stock if the sauce grows too thick.
- The pork is garnished with ginger batons, coriander and roasted peanuts and served with braised bok choy and steamed jasmine rice.[1]