Thai 5-Spice Egg & Pork Belly Stew (Kai Palo) - Instant Pot or Stovetop

Growing up in Thailand, kai palo is one of my favourite dishes. And I would be willing to bet that many Thai people would say that it's their childhood faves too. Hard boiled eggs and tender pork belly are simmered in a sweet-salty five-spice broth...how could any kid not like it! It was a staple at my school cafeteria, and a classic in many cafeterias and food courts around the country.

What is Kai Palo?

Kai means eggs, and palo means five-spice. Kai palo is a stew made from hard boiled eggs, pork belly, and tofu puffs in a rich and aromatic five-spice broth. It is a great example of Chinese influence on Thai cuisine because the key ingredients are ones that Chinese immigrants brought into Thailand: five spice, tofu, and soy sauce. In fact, the Chinese have a very similar dish that's probably the precursor of this dish!

In Thailand, kai palo is a humble dish so you won't find it in fancy restaurants. People make it at home, or you will find it in cafeterias and food courts. Also, anywhere kids go, you'll find kai palo because kids just love the sweet-salty flavour of this dish!

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Ingredients and Notes

Here are all the ingredients you'll need and some important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

Note: It is best to make this stew one day it advance, or aim to finish it at minimum 30 minutes before serving. The eggs will have time to absorb more flavour the longer you let them sit.

Spice Bag

• Cinnamon sticks
• Cloves
• Star anise
• Coriander seeds
• Sichuan peppercorns
• Cilantro roots or cilantro stems
• Cheesecloth, or use premade spice infusion bag which you can find at many Chinese grocery stores.

Note: If you have five spice powder already on hand, you can make a shortcut version by simply adding the powder to the broth. Use 1 ½ tablespoons of five spice powder for this recipe.

The Stew

• Pork belly, if you want a leaner dish you can also use pork shoulder.
• Salt
• Palm sugar, or sub brown sugar. Dark or light brown sugar will work here.
• Unsalted pork or chicken stock, storebought is fine, or you can use my homemade pork stock or chicken stock recipes.
• Soy sauce
• Golden Mountain Sauce, or sub soy sauce (see Guide to Soy Sauce video)
• Oyster sauce, see my post on how to choose good oyster sauce here.
• Black soy sauce or dark soy sauce, this is added to get the rich dark colour iconic of this soup. Thai black soy sauce is less salty than Chinese dark soy sauce, so if using Chinese dark soy, you may want to hold back on the regular soy sauce a bit.
• White pepper, ground
• Garlic, crushed
• Eggs, you can add as many as you like here, but I suggest 1-2 per person.
• Tofu puffs, halved. You can buy tofu puffs at Chinese grocery stores. They are tofu that have been fried and has an airy interior which absorbs sauce exceptionally well.
• Jasmine rice for serving

How to Make Five-Spice Eggs and Pork Belly Stew (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

1. Crush cinnamon sticks just until they break into smaller pieces. Toast all the spices in a dry saute pan on medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the coriander seeds start to darken slightly. Remove from heat and place in cheesecloth or spice infusion bag along with cilantro stems/roots.
2. In a large pot or in the Instant Pot, add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour.
3. Immediately add the stock to stop the sugar from cooking. Then add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, and salt.
4. Add the spice bag, white pepper, and crushed garlic and bring to a boil.

5. Add the pork belly and simmer gently for 2 - 2.5 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork-tender. If using an Instant Pot, cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, then natural release for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cook the eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes, then cool and peel. Once the pork is fork tender, add the hard boiled eggs.
7. Add the tofu puffs and simmer for another 8 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
8. Let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, and preferably one day in advance so the eggs can have a chance to absorb the flavour. Enjoy!

Tip for Extra Flavour: Sear the pork

Though not traditionally done, searing the pork to get nice browning on the surface can add a lovely robust flavour to the soup. It's a simple step:

1. Toss pork belly in the ½ teaspoon salt. Heat the pot you're using the make the stew over high heat, then add a little oil just to coat the bottom and sear the pork until browned on at least two sides (sear 4 sides if you've got the patience).
2. Remove the pork and pour off any excess fat. Then continue with the recipe as usual - so the next step would be to caramelize the sugar which you can do in this pot without washing.

A Note on Using the Instant Pot

This is a great dish to make in the Instant Pot because it can save a lot of cooking time without affecting the end result. While you can do the whole thing in the IP, I prefer to start it stovetop and transfer after all the liquids go in because it's much faster to caramelize the sugar on the stove.

The only modification I made for the IP is to use a bit less stock since the stew will not reduce at all in the IP.

How to Get Flavourful But Not Overcooked Eggs

Typical kai palo in Thailand features hard boiled eggs that are simmered in the soup for upwards of 30 minutes. This is to allow the eggs to absorb the flavour of the broth, but it also results in what Westerners would consider "overcooked" eggs—rubbery whites and grey ring around the yolks. For Thai people, there's nothing wrong with this; it is an expected characteristic.

However, I personally prefer not-overcooked eggs, so my technique is cooking the eggs just until they're done but letting them sit in the stew overnight before serving. If you don't have time to do overnight, give them at least 30 minutes. Any less than that and you're not doing the eggs justice!

Recipe Card

Five-Spice Eggs and Pork Belly Stew (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews

• Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

A popular stew in Thailand that is a favourite amongst kids and adults alike. Tender braised pork belly and hard boiled eggs that have absorbed the flavourful five-spice broth. Perfect with jasmine rice.

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Ingredients

Note: It is best to make this stew one day it advance, or aim to finish it at minimum 30 minutes before serving. The eggs will have time to absorb more flavour the longer you let them sit.

Spice Bag

• 2 cinnamon sticks (about 8 inches total)
• 8 pc cloves
• 2 pc star anise
  
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• ½ tsp sichuan peppercorns
• 3 cilantro roots or 10 cilantro stems
• A piece of cheesecloth big enough to make a spice bag, or use premade bag as shown in the video

Note: If you have five spice powder already on hand, you can make a shortcut version by simply adding the powder to the broth. Start with 1 tablespoon of five spice powder and add more to taste.

The Stew

• 1½ lb pork belly, 1.5-inch chunks
• ½-1 teaspoon salt
• 60g palm sugar (⅓ cup packed)
• 5 cups unsalted pork or chicken stock, 4 cups if using IP
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp Golden Mountain Sauce, or sub soy sauce (see Guide to Soy Sauce video)
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 2-3 teaspoon black soy sauce or dark soy sauce
• ½ tsp white pepper, ground
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 6-8 eggs (as many as you like, about 1-2 per person)
• 8 tofu puffs, halved
• Jasmine rice for serving

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Instructions

1. Crush cinnamon sticks just until they break into smaller pieces, then add them to a dry saute pan along with star anise, cloves, coriander seed and Sichuan peppercorns.
2. Toast over medium high heat, stirring constantly until the coriander seeds start to darken slightly. Remove from heat and place on the cheesecloth or spice bag.
3. Add cilantro stems or roots then tie the cheesecloth to make a bag.  

Stovetop Method

1. Optional step for extra flavour if you have time: In a heavy-bottomed pot, add a little oil to coat the bottom then heat on high. Toss pork belly in ½ teaspoon salt, then sear until browned on at least two sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off any excess fat collected in the pot but do not wash the pot.
2. In the same pot add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Immediately add stock to stop the cooking; the sugar will harden, this is okay. 
3. Add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic and the spice bag. If you didn't sear the pork, add the ½ teaspoon salt at this stage.
4. Add the pork and simmer gently for 2 - 2.5 hours, loosely covered, until the pork is fork-tender.
5. Meanwhile, cook the eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Once done place in a bowl of cold water to cool. Peel the eggs; be gentle as the yolks are still soft.
6. Once pork is done, add eggs and tofu puffs and simmer another 8 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
7. Let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving, and preferably one day in advance so the eggs can have a chance to absorb the flavour.
8. Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

Instant Pot Method

Note: You can do the whole thing in the IP, but I recommend starting stovetop because it will be much faster. But if using IP for the entire process, do the first part on saute mode on high.

1. Optional step for extra flavour if you have time: In a heavy-bottomed pot, add a little oil to coat the bottom then heat on high. Toss pork belly in ½ teaspoon salt, then sear until browned on at least two sides. Remove and set aside. Pour off any excess fat collected in the pot but do not wash the pot.
2. In the same pot add palm sugar and melt over medium high heat. Once melted, keep stirring until it turns a dark caramel colour. Immediately add half of the stock to stop the cooking; the sugar will harden, this is okay. 
3. Add soy sauce, Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, black/dark soy sauce, white pepper, garlic and the spice bag. If you didn't sear the pork, add the ½ teaspoon salt at this stage. Bring to a boil then transfer to the IP. 
4. Add the pork into the IP and also the remaining stock, then cook on "pressure cook" mode on "high" for 20 minutes. Let it natural release for a minimum of 15 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure. You can place a wet cold towel on the metal part of the lid to help speed up the cooling down process.
5. Meanwhile, cook eggs in boiling water for 8 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl of cold water. Peel the eggs; be gentle as the yolks are still soft.
6. Once pork is done, open the IP lid and add eggs and tofu puffs. Turn the IP on "saute" mode on "medium," then simmer the eggs and tofu for another 8 minutes (start timing from when the soup starts to bubble).
7. Remove the inner pot from the IP, taste and adjust seasoning if needed, and let the stew sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. I remove the inner pot because I found that when I let the soup sit in the IP, even with the machine off the heat retention is too high and the eggs continued to overcook.
8. Serve with jasmine rice. Enjoy!

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