Thai braised pork leg on rice with rich star anise gravy, pickled mustard greens and garlic chili vinegar, plus the trick for pork skin that stays whole.

Prep time: 20 minutesCook time: 2 hours 30 minutesTotal time: 2 hours 50 minutesServings: 6 servingsDifficulty: Medium

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Khao kha moo is Thailand's beloved braised pork leg on rice. This recipe gives you a rich, glossy, five-spice gravy and meltingly tender meat, plus the trick for keeping the pork skin intact and silky instead of falling apart. Serve it over rice with pickled mustard greens, blanched Chinese kale and the essential garlic chili vinegar.

Ingredients

Braised pork leg

  • 1 whole pork leg (hock), about 1.5 to 2 kg (3 1/2 to 4 1/2 lb)
  • 15 to 20 star anise
  • 3 to 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 3 slices dried galangal
  • 10 to 15 dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons Thai five-spice (pa-lo) powder
  • 3 liters (12 cups) water, or enough to cover the pork
  • 5 to 6 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 10 to 12 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons ground white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning powder (chicken bouillon)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 5 tablespoons Thai seasoning sauce (such as Golden Mountain or Maggi)
  • 5 tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce
  • 10 to 12 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 head pickled mustard greens
  • 1 large bunch Chinese kale (gai lan)

Garlic chili vinegar

  • 5 yellow chilies
  • 15 red chilies
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • White vinegar, enough to cover the chilies and garlic

Instructions

  1. Scrape and clean the pork leg well, then blanch it in boiling water for a few minutes and rinse.
  2. Toast the star anise, cinnamon and dried galangal briefly in a dry pot until fragrant. Add the water, pork leg, shiitake mushrooms and five-spice powder and bring to a boil.
  3. Season with the oyster sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, seasoning powder, salt, seasoning sauce, sweet dark soy sauce and sugar. Reduce to a gentle simmer, cover and braise for 2 to 3 hours, until the meat is tender. Keep the heat low and do not stir vigorously so the skin stays whole.
  4. Rinse the pickled mustard greens, cut into pieces and add to the pot for the last 30 minutes. Blanch the Chinese kale separately.
  5. For the chili vinegar, pound or blend the chilies and garlic coarsely, stir in the sugar and salt and add enough vinegar to cover.
  6. Slice the pork, arrange over steamed rice with the mustard greens and kale, spoon over plenty of gravy and serve with the chili vinegar on the side.

Tips

  • To keep the skin from breaking, simmer gently rather than boiling hard, and lift the leg out carefully with a slotted spoon.
  • The gravy tastes even better the next day; skim off the fat before reheating.
ThaiPorkBraisedRice DishesStreet Food

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