Khao kha moo
Photo: Amin · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Khao kha moo is a Thai-Chinese street staple that found its most famous home at Chiang Mai's Chang Phueak gate, where the goggle-and-cowboy-hat-wearing vendor known nationwide as the Cowboy Hat Lady turned a pork-leg cart into a pilgrimage. The pork leg is simmered for hours in a dark broth of soy, palm sugar, star anise and five spice until the meat and skin fall apart, then chopped over rice with pickled mustard greens, a sharp chilli-garlic vinegar and often a stewed egg. Cheap, rich and comforting, it is the classic Chiang Mai night-market dinner.

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Common allergens: Soy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 pork leg or hock, about 1.2kg
  • 6 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp palm sugar
  • 3 star anise
  • 1 tbsp five-spice powder
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 4 eggs
  • Pickled mustard greens and rice, to serve

Method

  1. Blanch the pork leg in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain.
  2. In a deep pot combine both soy sauces, palm sugar, star anise, five spice and garlic with 1.5 litres water.
  3. Add the pork leg, bring to a simmer and cook covered 2.5 to 3 hours until the skin and meat are meltingly soft.
  4. Add the peeled eggs for the last 30 minutes to stew in the broth.
  5. Slice the pork over rice, spoon on broth and serve with a halved egg and pickled greens.

Tip from the editors. Keep the braise at a bare simmer; a hard boil toughens the skin instead of rendering it to silk.

Where to eat khao kha moo

Khao kha moo in Chiang Mai

Khao Kha Moo Chang Phueak (Cowboy Hat Lady) ★ 4.4

฿ Northern ThaiChang PhueakUntil 24:00

The Cowboy Hat Lady's braised pork-leg stall runs to midnight at the North Gate market, among the best cheap late dinners in Chiang Mai when kitchens close.

TryKhao kha moo

Directions

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