Gaeng Hang Lay

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork belly, cut into 4 cm cubes
• 3 tbsp hang lay curry powder, or a mix of 1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon plus 1/2 tsp each ground clove, cardamom, mace and black pepper
• 6 dried long red chillies
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 30 g galangal
• 6 shallots
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 80 g young ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
• 8 whole heads pickled garlic, halved across
• 60 g roasted peanuts
• 4 tbsp tamarind paste
• 3 tbsp palm sugar
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 600 ml water

Before you cook

• Cut the pork belly into generous cubes, leaving all the fat and skin on.
• Soak the dried chillies in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain them.
• Pound the chillies, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste and salt to a paste.
• Rub the pork with the hang lay curry powder and half the chilli paste, then leave it to marinate for 30 minutes.
• Cut the young ginger into fine matchsticks and drop them into cold water to keep them crisp.

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add the remaining chilli paste and fry for 3 minutes until it smells sweet and toasty.
3. Add the marinated pork and turn it in the paste for 5 minutes, until the outside is sealed and glossy.
4. Pour in the water and add the tamarind paste, palm sugar, dark soy sauce and fish sauce.
5. Bring the pot to a boil, then drop the heat until the surface barely trembles.
6. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes so nothing catches on the base.
7. Drain the ginger and add it to the pot along with the pickled garlic and the roasted peanuts.
8. Simmer uncovered for another 40 minutes, until the pork gives way to a spoon and the sauce clings to each piece.
9. Look for a slick of clear red oil rising to the surface, which is when the curry is finished.
10. Taste and balance it so the sourness lands first, then the sweetness, then the salt, with the dried spices sitting warm underneath.
11. Rest the curry off the heat for 15 minutes, then serve with plain jasmine rice.