Recipes

Crispy Pork Belly with Peppers

Moo Grob Pad Prik Yuak

Crispy pork belly stir-fried with mild wax peppers in a sticky garlic sauce

Prep

2 min

Cook

3 min

Serves

4

Heat

mild

Pad Prik Yuak proves a Thai stir-fry doesn't need chili heat to deliver on flavor: mild wax peppers and a generous amount of crushed garlic carry the dish instead, wrapped in a sticky, sweet-savory sauce built from oyster sauce, dark sweet soy, and sugar cooked down until it clings to everything in the pan. Crispy pork belly only needs to warm through briefly, since it's already cooked, and the peppers get just enough time in the sauce to soften slightly while staying crisp. A little mild red chili goes in purely for color, keeping the whole dish gentle enough for anyone who finds typical Thai spice levels too intense.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Crispy deep-fried pork belly (moo grob) (sliced)
• 9 Wax peppers (sliced diagonally)
• 4 Green onions (cut into 1-inch pieces)
• 2 Thai long chilies (sliced diagonally, for color)
• 4 Garlic, large cloves (crushed, leaving big chunks)
• 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
• 4 teaspoons Light soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons Dark sweet soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons Sugar

Directions

1. Slice the chilies diagonally and cut the green onion into 1-inch pieces. Crush the garlic with a mortar and pestle or garlic press, leaving some larger chunks, rather than finely chopping it.
2. Heat oil in a wok over low heat. Add the garlic and fry slowly for 15 to 30 seconds.
3. Add the pork belly slices and stir in, letting them warm through for about a minute.
4. Add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce, and sugar. Stir in and turn the heat up as high as it goes.
5. Let the sauces and sugar melt together and cook down into a thick coating over high heat, stirring constantly. Some sticking and browning in the pan is fine, but don't let it burn.
6. Add the peppers and green onion. Stir in well and fry for about a minute, flipping from the bottom.
7. Add a small splash of water and stir to deglaze the pan, washing the sticky sauce back in to build a rich gravy.
8. Cook for about 30 seconds, until hot again. Don't overcook the peppers — they should stay firm and crisp.
9. Serve immediately with hot steamed rice, either as individual plates or shared family-style.

Notes

Crush the garlic rather than chopping it — crushing pushes out more of the garlic's juice, giving the sauce a stronger flavor than finely minced garlic would.

Substitutions

Sliced raw pork or chicken can substitute for the crispy pork belly if that isn't on hand — just cook it through fully in the garlic before adding the sauces.