Dish
Khor Sach Chrouk
Slow-braised pork belly stewed with ginger, pepper and palm sugar caramel.
Khor Sach Chrouk (ខសាច់ជ្រូក) is slow-braised pork belly stewed with ginger, pepper and palm sugar caramel.[1] Cambodians call it khor sach chrouk or kaw sach chrouk. Khor means stew, and sach chrouk means pork meat.[1]
Cultural context
A literal Khmer rendering of the whole recipe would add knhei mrech skor thnot sondek dei to the name khor sach chrouk.[1] Cambodian sweet pork belly with boiled eggs is often cooked for new mothers in the countryside, to help them recover. In Siem Reap and Phnom Penh it is more often a dish for family gatherings and special occasions.[2]
In rural Cambodia the dish may be cooked outdoors over an open fire or on a clay brazier. It is traditionally made in a clay pot, and rural cooks also use clay or tin pots.[1] A small or medium pot serves a family meal, and a large pot is used for special occasions, for which villagers may keep pigs.[1]
Cambodians serve vegetables on the side rather than cooking them into the stew.[1] The dish is eaten with steamed jasmine rice and braised bok choy or other Asian greens, or with stir-fried greens such as morning glory.[1][3]
Ingredients and preparation
The Grantourismo version, by Terence Carter, uses pork belly, star anise, palm sugar, black pepper, ginger and peanuts.[1] The palm sugar caramelizes the pork. Ginger and pepper give it a sweet, floral scent, and roasted peanuts add crunch against the soft meat.[1][4] The pork is brined overnight with salt, sugar, star anise and cinnamon, then cut into 5-centimeter (2-inch) squares. It is marinated for an hour with garlic, black pepper, ginger, fish sauce and soy sauce, then stir-fried with palm sugar, garlic and peanuts before the stock goes in.[1] It is garnished with more ginger cut into matchsticks.[4] A Dutch oven suits the dish because its wide base spreads the heat evenly.[4]
The dish is closer to a braise than to a soup or an ordinary stew. The cooking liquid reduces to a thick sauce and does not cover the pork.[1]
Other recipes build the dish on eggs. Pork belly pieces and hard-boiled eggs simmer slowly in a dark broth made with caramelized palm sugar, black pepper and fish sauce, and the eggs absorb its sweet and salty flavor.[5] The Flavourfully Good recipe uses pork shoulder and pig feet instead of pork belly.[6] The palm sugar is first caramelized with a little water. Garlic, star anise, salt, black pepper and fish sauce are stirred in until the caramel turns golden brown.[6] The pork is turned in the caramel until it is no longer pink, and then the eggs and more water go in.[6] The fat and foam are skimmed, and the covered pot simmers for about an hour until the meat is tender.[6] That version is served with rice or rice porridge.[6]
History and origins
Stews are among the oldest foods eaten in Cambodia, along with rice and soups.[1] In the past the dish might have been made with wild boar; cooks use domesticated pork.[1]
Grantourismo Travels notes a Vietnamese version of the sweet pork belly and egg dish that usually adds star anise.[2] Similar braises of pork and boiled eggs are found across Southeast Asia and China.[7]
Regional and household variations
Khor names a wider Khmer family of braised dishes, made with different meats and seasonings.[8] Khor cherng chrouk uses pig's trotters and whole eggs, cooked with fish sauce, caramelized palm sugar and black Kampot pepper.[8] The family also includes versions made with shrimp and with frog.[8]
Grantourismo Travels sets the dish apart from khor cheung chrouk, a Cambodian pork leg stew. It calls Cambodian sweet pork belly with boiled eggs a related dish, and the one most people think of first under the name khor sach chrouk.[1] It also compares the dish with braised pork belly from Japan (butaniku no kakuni), Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Shanghai.[1]
Preparations and recipes
- Terence Carter, Grantourismo
- Brined pork belly marinated with ginger and pepper, caramelised in palm sugar and simmered with peanuts and stock.
References 8
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Grantourismo Travels, Braised Pork Belly Recipe with Ginger, Pepper, and Palm Sugar (2020-09-17)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Grantourismo Travels, Sweet Pork Belly with Boiled Eggs Recipe (January 24, 2017)
- ↑ Grantourismo Travels, Sunday Dinner Alternatives to Roasts (2025-06-15)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Grantourismo Travels, Recipes with Ginger to Settle Your Stomach
- ↑ Guides and Stories, Best Food in Cambodia: 35 Popular Dishes (2025-08-08)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Flavourfully Good, Caramelized Pork with Eggs: Pork Stew (2022-05-23)
- ↑ Grantourismo Travels, Vietnamese Braised Pork Belly and Eggs Recipe for Thit Kho Tau (February 9, 2021)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Hello Angkor, An Uncommon Guide to Cambodian Cuisine (2019-08-15)
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