Five-Spice Soup with Eggs and Pork Belly (Kai Palo)

July 10, 2017

Five-Spice Soup with Eggs and Pork Belly (Kai Palo) © kvalifood.com

Kai palo is a Thai-Chinese braised soup with pork belly, eggs, and tofu puffs in a dark, aromatic five-spice broth. It is rich, salty-sweet, and fragrant with cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Too strong to eat on its own - it is meant to be spooned over jasmine rice. A favourite with kids since it has no chilies. It tastes even better the next day after the eggs have had time to absorb the broth.

Ingredients

Serves 4

700 g pork belly, cut into 2 ½- to 5 cm cubes (for a leaner option, use pork butt)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
60 ml palm sugar, finely chopped, packed
1 ¼ l pork stock (or chicken stock), unsalted
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 1/4 Tbsp black soy sauce
1 Tbsp seasoning sauce, such as Golden Mountain (or Maggi)
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp white pepper, ground
8 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, toasted
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cilantro roots, crushed, (or 10 cilantro stems)
4-8 eggs (1-2 per person)
12 tofu puffs, 4 cm cubes
Cilantro, for garnish
Jasmine rice, for serving

Directions

Toss the pork belly with the salt. Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Sear the pork on all sides until browned, controlling the heat so you do not burn the fond on the bottom of the pot. Work in batches if needed - do not crowd the pot. Set the browned pork aside in a bowl. Pour off and discard excess oil, leaving just enough to cover the bottom.

Return the pot to medium heat and add the palm sugar. Stir until the sugar melts and caramelizes to a dark brown colour. Pour in the stock quickly (it will bubble aggressively), then add the pork, soy sauce, black soy sauce, seasoning sauce, oyster sauce, and white pepper. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. The caramelized sugar will be hard and stick to the bottom at first, but it will slowly dissolve.

Put the cloves, star anise, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, and Sichuan peppercorns into a piece of cheesecloth and tie it into a bag. Add this spice bag, the garlic, and cilantro roots to the pot. Cover and simmer on low heat for 1 1/2-2 hours, until the pork is fork-tender. Add more water or stock as needed to keep the pork mostly submerged.

While the soup cooks, prepare medium-boiled eggs. Use a pot large enough that the eggs are not crowded. Add water to at least 1 inch above the eggs and bring to a full boil over high heat. Lower the eggs in with a slotted spoon and boil for 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. Peel carefully - the yolks will still be soft. Peeling under running cold water helps loosen the shell.

When the pork is tender, remove the spice bag and cilantro roots. Add the peeled eggs and tofu puffs. Simmer gently for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, taste, and adjust the seasoning with more salt if needed.

If possible, let the soup sit for at least a few hours or overnight before serving so the eggs absorb more flavour. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve over jasmine rice.

Notes

Takes about 2 hours plus resting time. Best made the day before serving.

You will need cheesecloth or a muslin bag for wrapping the spices.

If you burn the fond while searing, start the caramelization step in a fresh pot.

Tofu puff is a type of fried tofu that is light and airy inside, good at absorbing broth. It is available at Chinese grocery stores. You can substitute any other fried tofu.

Traditional kai palo simmers the eggs with the pork for 30-60 minutes, which makes the whites rubbery but means the seasoning fully permeates the eggs. The method here is a middle ground - the eggs cook just until done, then absorb flavour by sitting in the soup overnight.