Gaeng Hung Lay (แกงฮังเล) is the best-known curry from Northern Thailand. It incorporates extra spices than different Thai curries and is sweeter, but a lot much less spicy when it comes to chili warmth, and it has no coconut milk. Most of its gentle spiciness comes from ginger moderately than the gentle pink chilies used. This makes it a fantastic selection for individuals who don’t get pleasure from intense chili warmth.
In contrast to Khao Soi, which varies relying on the place you might be in Northern Thailand, I’ve discovered Gaeng Hung Lay to be constant in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. Should you’ve been following me for some time, it gained’t shock you that I used sous vide to arrange this pork curry. As with all stews, the standard of the meat is essential. It ought to be well-marbled for the perfect texture and taste. In Thailand, I’ve seen Gaeng Hung Lay made with pork ribs and pork stomach, however pork neck (confusingly referred to as pork butt within the US) works nicely too.
An attention-grabbing element is that this curry originates from Burma (Myanmar), the place it historically doesn’t embrace peanuts. Nevertheless, each Gaeng Hung Lay I’ve had in Northern Thailand did include peanuts, which appears to be a typical Thai addition. I based mostly my model on Scorching Thai Kitchen’s recipe, and Pai Lin doesn’t use peanuts. That’s why you don’t see any within the images—I left them out after I made this after coming back from my first journey to Northern Thailand earlier this 12 months. Now that I’m again in Northern Thailand and have loved Gaeng Hung Lay a number of extra instances, I’ve seen peanuts are all the time current and remembered they have been included throughout my earlier go to as nicely.
I like utilizing sous vide for stews as a result of it requires no monitoring and ensures tender, juicy outcomes each time. You may definitely make this within the oven or on the stovetop, however that includes stirring and maintaining a tally of it, and there’s a larger danger of the meat turning out robust or dry in comparison with sous vide.
I wish to make a big batch—about 3 kilos (6.6 lbs) of meat, with the recipe quadrupled apart from the curry powder, which is already scaled for that quantity. The benefit is that you would be able to cook dinner all of the meat sous vide directly in individually bagged parts, so that you solely must run the sous vide for 48 hours as soon as. Then you’ll be able to freeze the parts and reheat them straight from the freezer in a single hour utilizing sous vide, making it straightforward to serve this flavorful stew on a weekday with no effort.
Substances
For the curry powder (makes 8 tablespoons, enough for 3 kilos (6.6 lbs) of boneless meat)
- 20 cm (8 inches) of cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp floor cardamom
- 2 Tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 Tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 star anise
- 3 cloves
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tsp fennel seed
- 5 white cardamom pods
For the curry paste, enough for 750 grams (1.7 lbs) of boneless meat
- 8-10 grams dried gentle pink chilies
- 1 dried small spicy pink chili (elective)
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 stalk lemongrass, backside half solely, chopped
- 5 slices galangal
- 5 cm (2″) turmeric root
- 2 Tbsp hung lay curry powder (from above)
- 1 teaspoon Thai fermented shrimp paste
- 45 grams (1/3 cup) sliced shallots
For 750 grams of boneless meat, serves 4
- 450 grams pork stomach
- 450 grams pork ribs, or 300 grams pork neck (aka pork butt)
- ¼ cup Thai tamarind paste
- 2 Tbsp palm sugar
- 1-2 tsp black soy sauce
- 1 ½ – 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 35 grams (1/3 cup) julienned ginger
- 1 Tbsp unsalted, evenly roasted peanuts (elective)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Place 20 cm (8 inches) of cinnamon stick, 2 tsp black peppercorns, 2 Tbsp cumin seeds, 2 Tbsp coriander seeds, 1 star anise, 3 cloves, 2 tsp fennel seeds, and 5 white cardamom pods in an ovenproof dish. Toast for 8 minutes at 180 °C (350 °F).
Switch the toasted spices to a spice grinder…
…and grind to a nice powder.
I did this in batches due to the quantity and the completely different sizes.
Place the powder in a bowl and add 2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp floor cardamom, and ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg. Stir to mix. This yields 8 tablespoons of curry powder. For 4 servings, use 2 tablespoons and retailer the rest in an hermetic container for subsequent time.
To make the curry paste, begin by eradicating the seeds and stems from the dried pink chilies, then reduce or tear them into items. Place the items in a spice grinder…
…and grind them right into a nice powder.
Now use a mortar and pestle or a blender to make the curry paste. I began with a meals processor…
…to grind every thing coarsely…
…then switched to an immersion blender for a finer texture. The tactic doesn’t matter—what issues is attaining a clean paste from the next:
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 stalk lemongrass (backside half solely), thinly sliced
- 5 slices galangal
- 5 cm (2 inches) turmeric root
- 1 tsp Thai fermented shrimp paste
- 45 g (⅓ cup) sliced shallots
- 2 Tbsp hung lay curry powder
- the bottom chilies
Alter portions proportionally for those who’re making a bigger batch.
To brown the meat, begin with the pork stomach, inserting the fats facet down in a dry frying pan. Sear over medium-high warmth till the fats facet is golden brown…
…then flip over the meat.
The rendered fats shall be sufficient to complete browning the opposite facet of the pork stomach in addition to the remaining pork.
It’s simpler to slice the meat into thick slices moderately than cubes, brown the slices first, after which reduce them into cubes after browning.
Take the meat out of the pan and let it cool to room temperature. Cowl with plastic wrap and chill within the fridge till utterly chilly. The meat ought to be absolutely chilled earlier than vacuum sealing for sous vide cooking.
Add the curry paste to the pan with the pork drippings and stir-fry over medium-high warmth till aromatic and absolutely cooked. Because the meat shall be cooked sous vide at 68 °C (155 °F), which isn’t scorching sufficient to correctly cook dinner the greens within the curry paste, this step is important.
Add 2 Tbsp palm sugar…
…¼ cup Thai tamarind paste…
…1-2 tsp black soy sauce…
…1 ½ – 2 Tbsp fish sauce…
…and any juices that leaked out of the pork after browning, as we don’t need any taste to go to waste. Add a tablespoon of evenly toasted peanuts, if utilizing. (Bear in mind to a number of the quantities accordingly for those who’re making a bigger batch.)
Stir till every thing is nicely mixed and the sugar has melted. Use mild warmth if needed, however keep away from heating greater than wanted as a result of the following step is to let the combination cool utterly.
As soon as the meat has chilled, reduce it into cubes. It ought to nonetheless be uncooked on the within, as we shall be cooking it fastidiously sous vide.
When the curry paste combination is chilly, combine it with the meat till the items are totally coated. To make sure the meat and sauce have been evenly distributed, I divided each into parts and blended every portion individually in a bowl earlier than vacuum sealing.
Vacuum-seal the meat in parts. Because the sauce is thick and chilled, it is best to have the ability to vacuum-seal efficiently even with an exterior sealer.
Prepare dinner sous vide for 48 hours at 68 °C (155 °F).
To complete the dish, place 35 grams (⅓ cup) julienned ginger in a pot and canopy with water. Convey to a boil…
…then simmer till the ginger is tender however nonetheless agency to the chew, about quarter-hour.
Reduce open a sous vide bag with cooked stew, pour the liquid into the pan with the ginger, and convey it to a boil.
Add the remaining contents of the bag, then flip off the warmth and stir till every thing is nicely mixed.
Serve the stew with steamed jasmine rice. Historically, Thai meals characteristic rice formed right into a dome on a plate, with the stew served individually in a bowl, alongside a number of different dishes. For a weekday meal, I merely reheat a sous vide bag of Gaeng Hung Lay from the freezer and serve it with rice.
