History

Gaeng hang lay is the clearest culinary trace of the two centuries Chiang Mai spent under Burmese rule. Unlike coconut-based Thai curries, it is a dry, spice-driven braise of fatty pork belly cooked long with ginger, garlic, tamarind, palm sugar and a dedicated hang lay curry powder heavy on turmeric and dried spice. The result is sweet, sour and deeply savoury, mellowing over a day or two, which is why it appears at temple merit-making and festivals cooked in vast pots. It remains a signature of the Lanna feast and a staple of the north's Bib Gourmand kitchens.

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Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 800g pork belly, cut into large cubes
  • 3 tbsp red curry paste
  • 2 tbsp hang lay curry powder
  • 1 thumb ginger, julienned
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp palm sugar
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • Pickled garlic, to serve

Method

  1. Brown the pork belly in a heavy pot, then stir in the curry paste and hang lay powder.
  2. Add enough water to almost cover and bring to a gentle simmer.
  3. Stir in tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce.
  4. Simmer uncovered 1.5 to 2 hours, adding water as needed, until the pork is tender and the sauce is thick.
  5. Fold in the ginger and pickled garlic in the last 15 minutes and serve with sticky rice.

Tip from the editors. It tastes better the next day; make it ahead, cool and reheat gently so the pork belly turns silky.

Where to eat gaeng hang lay

Gaeng hang lay in Chiang Mai

Huen Muan Jai ★ 4.6

฿฿ Northern ThaiChang Phueak

A garden Lanna house and longtime Michelin Bib Gourmand, plating northern curries, herb sausage and smoky chili dips under its wooden garden pavilions.

SignatureGaeng hang lay, Sai ua, Nam prik noom

Directions

Aroon Rai ★ 3.9

฿ Northern ThaiOld City

One of the oldest northern kitchens in the Old City keeps most plates under 100 baht, a no-frills, decades-deep option for hang lay and larb on a budget.

TryNorthern curries and rice

Directions

Krua Phech Doi Ngam ★ 4.1

฿฿ Northern ThaiHang Dong

Why locals goA local Lanna kitchen off the eastern bypass where visitors are so rare that regulars notice, cooking classic northern curries far from the tourist trail.

TipYou will need a taxi or scooter to reach it; go for the gaeng hang lay and the nam prik platter with sticky rice.

Directions

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