Caramel-Braised Pork Belly with Black Pepper and Garlic
Thick slabs of pork belly braised impossibly slowly in a dark, glossy sauce of palm sugar, soy, and an avalanche of cracked black pepper and garlic until the meat collapses into tender, melt-on-your-tongue pieces. This southern Thai heirloom dish is pure comfort -- rich, deeply savory, and deceptively simple with a sweetness that lingers.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs skin-on pork belly, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 15 cloves garlic, lightly smashed
- 10 cilantro roots or 1 cup cilantro stems, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
+ 9 more ingredients
Instructions
In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, cilantro roots, and cracked black peppercorns into a rough, chunky paste. Do not make it too smooth -- texture is desirable.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pork belly cubes and sear on all sides until golden brown, about 8 minutes total. Work in batches if needed.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic-pepper paste to the pot and fry in the rendered pork fat for 2 minutes until extremely fragrant.
Add the dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, oyster sauce, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Stir to coat every piece of pork in the sauce.
Pour in the water and bring to a gentle boil. Stir once to deglaze any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pot.
Reduce heat to the lowest possible setting. Cover and braise for 1 hour, checking and stirring every 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and simmer for a final 15-20 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce into a thick, dark, sticky glaze that coats each piece.
The pork should be extremely tender and the sauce should be glossy and cling to the meat.
Serve over steamed jasmine rice with the reduced sauce spooned generously over the top.
Nutrition Estimate
Per serving • Estimated by Blinner AI