History

Moo hong is the soul of Phuket's Baba, or Peranakan, home cooking, a braise that traces directly to the Hokkien Chinese kitchen and its love of dark soy and warming spice. Families of mixed Chinese and local descent in the tin towns cooked it for everyday meals and festivals alike. Unlike most southern Thai food it is gentle rather than chilli-hot, sweet, salty and peppery, and the Michelin Guide singles out the mu hong at One Chun for its soft, tender pork belly.

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Common allergens: Soy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 800g skin-on pork belly, cut into 3cm cubes
  • 8 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbsp white peppercorns
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp palm sugar
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 500ml water
  • 1 tbsp oil

Method

  1. Pound the garlic and both peppercorns to a coarse paste in a mortar.
  2. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry the paste for 1 minute until fragrant.
  3. Add the pork and stir for 5 minutes until the edges are sealed.
  4. Add the palm sugar and let it melt and coat the pork for 2 minutes.
  5. Add both soy sauces, the oyster sauce and the water and bring to a simmer.
  6. Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the pork is spoon-tender.
  7. Uncover and reduce for 10 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy, then serve with rice.

Tip from the editors. Make it a day ahead; the braise tastes deeper after a night in the fridge, and the fat lifts off easily.

Where to eat moo hong

Moo hong in Phuket

One Chun ★ 4.5

฿฿ Southern ThaiPhuket Town

One Chun is a Michelin Bib Gourmand fixture in a vintage-styled 19th century building in Phuket Town, cooking family recipes passed down the generations.

TryMu hong (braised pork belly) and family Southern Thai dishes

TipTry the spicy shrimp and shrimp-paste salad alongside the mu hong, and bring cash: the Michelin Guide lists One Chun as cash only.

Directions

Raya Restaurant ★ 4.1

฿฿ Southern ThaiOld Town

Raya Restaurant, founded in 1994, cooks Phuket crab curry and southern Thai plates in an old Sino-Portuguese mansion on Dibuk Road in Phuket Old Town.

OrderOrder the crab meat yellow curry with rice noodles, the dish Raya is best known for today.

TipFounder Kularb Jesadawal was a bank worker cooking for friends before she opened Raya in 1994; order the crab curry and the moo hong.

Directions

Krua Praya ★ 4.1

฿฿ Southern ThaiThalang

Krua Praya is a Michelin Bib Gourmand garden kitchen in Si Sunthon, Phuket, cooking bold Southern Thai pork belly and stews to order under open air.

OrderOrder the fried pork belly with curry paste and young coconut shoots.

TipDishes are cooked to order, so build in extra time before your next stop.

Directions

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