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Thai Braised Pork and Eggs with Star Anise and Cinnamon (Moo Palo)
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Moo palo is a classic Thai braise that combines the richness of pork belly and eggs in savory-sweet broth flavored with Chinese five-spice powder. For our version, we opted for easier-to-source pork shoulder; it's a leaner cut but it cooks up equally flavorful. Traditionally, hard-cooked eggs are simmered with the pork and take on a brown hue from the braising liquid, along with a firm texture from long cooking. We opted instead to simply garnish the bowlfuls with hard-cooked eggs so their color is brighter and texture more tender. And rather than use five-spice powder, which can give the braise a muddled, overspiced flavor, we preferred the cleaner, purer notes of whole cloves, star anise and cinnamon sticks. Serve the pork and eggs with steamed jasmine rice. As with most braises, this dish tastes even better the next day.
6
Servings
Tip
Don't use preground white pepper. Whole white peppercorns have far more flavor and aroma. Black peppercorns would be a better substitute than preground white pepper, but its flavor is sharper and more pungent and will slightly alter the flavor profile of the dish. And don't use regular soy sauce, which is too salty.
1 hour 40 minutes
30 minutes active
1 bunch cilantro, stems chopped, leaves roughly chopped, reserved separately
8 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 tablespoon whole white peppercorns
3 whole cloves
6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, plus more as needed
⅓ cup fish sauce
⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar, plus more as needed
5 star anise pods
3 3-inch cinnamon sticks
4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
6 large eggs
Ingredients
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1
bunch cilantro, stems chopped, leaves roughly chopped, reserved separately
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8
medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
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1
tablespoon whole white peppercorns
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3
whole cloves
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6
tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, plus more as needed
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⅓
cup fish sauce
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⅓
cup packed dark brown sugar, plus more as needed
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5
star anise pods
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3
3-inch cinnamon sticks
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4
pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
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6
large eggs
Directions
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01In a blender, combine the cilantro stems, garlic, peppercorns, cloves, soy sauce, fish sauce and 6 tablespoons water. Puree until almost smooth, about 20 seconds. Set aside.
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02In a large Dutch oven over medium-high, stir together the sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the sugar turns foamy, then dry and begins to smoke lightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the cilantro stem–garlic mixture, then add 7 cups water to the blender, swirl to rinse it, then add the water to the pot. Stir, scraping up any caramelized sugar from the bottom and sides of the pot.
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03Add the star anise, cinnamon sticks and pork, distributing the meat in an even layer. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to medium-low and cook, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer, for 50 minutes.
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04Meanwhile, place a folding streamer basket in a large saucepan and add enough water to skim the bottom of the basket. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Add the eggs to the steamer basket, cover and cook for 12 minutes. While the eggs cook, fill a medium bowl with ice water. When the eggs are done, immediately transfer them to the ice water and let stand until cooled. Crack and peel the eggs, then set aside.
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05After the pork has simmered for 50 minutes, uncover, increase to heat medium and cook until a skewer inserted into the pork meets no resistance, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove and discard the star anise and cinnamon sticks, then let stand for about 5 minutes. Tilt the pot to pool the liquid to one side, then use a wide spoon to skim off and discard as much fat as possible from the surface of the liquid. Taste and season with additional soy sauce, then return to a simmer over medium.
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06Spoon the pork and broth into bowls. Cut the eggs lengthwise in halves or quarters and place 2 or 4 pieces in each bowl, then top with cilantro leaves.
Reviews
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Wow. I was not optimistic about this recipe because I didn't believe the pork shoulder would be good simmered in a fairly thin broth (not really a full braise). These days, however, I cook with what is on hand, and I happened to have all the ingredients. I made the recipe as written, and honestly it was quite good. I might cut back on the peppercorns just a bit next time as one of my teenagers found it a little spicy. The combination of the pork, eggs and flavorful broth was very tasty and meat cooked up quite tender.