• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Hot Thai Kitchen
  • Recipes by Categories
  • Kitchen Tips & Ingredients
  • Thailand Vlogs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Newsletter
  • Patreon
  • Shop Ingredients & Tools
  • Find an Asian Grocer
  • Merch
  • About
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes by Categories
  • Kitchen Tips & Ingredients
  • Thailand Vlogs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Newsletter
  • Patreon
  • Shop Ingredients & Tools
  • Find an Asian Grocer
  • Merch
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » All Recipes » Popular Classics » Kua Gling - Southern Pork Stir-Fry w/ Curry Paste คั่วกลิ้ง

    Kua Gling - Southern Pork Stir-Fry w/ Curry Paste คั่วกลิ้ง

    Published: Sep 15, 2017 · Modified: Dec 7, 2020 by Pailin Chongchitnant · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Jump to video!


    This dish is an absolute classic southern Thai food. Ground pork, or any other ground meat, or even crumbled tofu, is stir-fried with southern curry paste laced with turmeric. It's spicy, it's super flavourful, and it's versatile! We toss it with some jasmine rice, but you can put it in an omelette or perhaps...a taco? Oh and it's also gluten-free and can be made vegan if you substitute crumbled firm tofu or TVP (detailed vegan substitutions below).

    In Thailand, this dish is often way too spicy for me to enjoy (southern food is often super spicy), so I gotta make it myself so I can make it just right for me!

    Once you've made a curry paste (which you can make in advance and then freeze), the recipe comes together in mere minutes and it keeps well for your lunch the next day. This is not a dish many Thai restaurants offer because it's more of a regional dish, so if you want to try it you gotta make it yourself!

    Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

    All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!


    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Kua gling คั่วกลิ้ง

    Kua Gling - Southern Pork Stir-Fry w/ Curry Paste คั่วกลิ้ง

    ★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
    • Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
    • Yield: Serves 4
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    Kua Gling Curry Paste

    • 8-10g dried chilies, seeds removed (I use arbol chilies because it's medium-spicy. Use Thai dried chilies for super spicy, and guajillo chilies for mild.)
    • 1 tsp black peppercorns
    • 1 stalk lemongrass (bottom half only), divided into 2 equal portions
    • 3 Tbsp chopped galangal
    • 2-inch pc fresh turmeric or 1 ½ tsp powdered turmeric
    • 2 tsp chopped kaffir lime zest (optional)
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ⅓ cup shallots, chopped
    • 5 cloves garlic
    • 2 tsp fermented shrimp paste (gapi)

    Kua Gling

    • 1 lb (450 g) ground pork or other ground meats (see note)
    • ¼ - ⅓ cup water or unsalted chicken stock
    • 1-2 tsp fish sauce (this depends on the saltiness of your shrimp paste, so taste first before you add fish sauce)
    • 2 tsp sugar
    • 6-7 kaffir lime leaves, finely julienned
    • Fresh red chilies, cut into big pieces (optional)
    • For serving: Jasmine rice, fresh crunchy veggies such as cucumber to help cool you down, and I also love serving pork crackling with this dish for extra texture!

    Note: To make this vegan, use miso paste instead of shrimp paste, soy sauce instead of fish sauce, and use crumbled firm tofu or TVP instead of meat.

    Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use


    Instructions

    For the curry paste:

    Grind dried chilies and black pepper in a coffee grinder until fine. In a mortar and pestle (or use an immersion blender like this one) pound half of the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, kaffir lime zest (if using) with a little salt into a rough paste.

    Add the ground chilies and black pepper and pound to help absorb some liquid from the herbs.

    Add shallots and garlic and pound into a paste (doesn't need to be super fine, as long as there are no big chunks).

    Add shrimp paste and pound to mix. You can now freeze this paste for future use if desired.

    For the stir-fry:

    In a wok, add just enough cooking oil to coat the bottom, then add the curry paste and saute it for a few minutes over medium heat, until the chili fumes fill your house! If the paste sticks, add water or stock as needed to deglaze.

    Add the pork, or whatever protein you're using, and turn the heat up to medium high. Toss the pork well with the curry paste until there are no more big lumps. Add the sugar and keep tossing until fully cooked. If there is any liquid pooling at this point, crank the heat to high and keep cooking until there is no more liquid pooling.

    If this is your first time making it, taste it at this point and see if how much fish sauce it needs, if at all. This will depend on various factors including the saltiness of your shrimp paste. Once it is properly seasoned, add lime leaves, the other half of the lemongrass and chilies and toss to mix and it's done!

    Serve with jasmine rice, and if you wish, some crunchy fresh vegetables to help cool you down from the heat. Pork crackling also goes really well with this dish.

    Join us on Patreon for bonus content & rewards!


    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @HOTTHAIKITCHEN on Instagram and hashtag it #HotThaiKitchen!

    « Tom Yum Goong Recipe (Creamy Version) ต้มยำกุ้งนำ้ข้น
    Thai Sukiyaki Soup (Suki Nam) สุกี้นำ้ »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rachael

      April 26, 2021 at 4:21 am

      Delicious! I used an immersion blender I make the curry paste, leaving out the chili/pepper powder until after I had saved out some for a meat portion for our small kids. Love being able to cook from scratch so I can customize the heat!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆
    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Connect With Me!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    Image of Pailin

    Sawaddee ka! I'm Pai, a chef, author, and YouTuber. I'm here to demystify Thai cuisine and help you cook great Thai food at home. How did a girl from Thailand come to teach Thai cooking to millions worldwide? Here's my story.

    Featured On...

    Meatless Recipes

    • Vegan Thai Green Curry Meat Eaters Will Love
    • Pad See Ew with Rice Vermicelli
    • Chili Garlic Noodles Recipe
    • Fast & Easy Marble Eggs with Prik Nam Pla

    Vegetable Recipes

    • Soy Caramel Roasted Kabocha Squash
    • Maple Fish Sauce Brussels Sprouts
    • Gai Lan Oyster Sauce Stir-Fry
    • Cucumber Challenge! Spicy Chicken & Cucumber Stir-Fry

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Merch
    • All Recipes

    Newsletter

    Sign Up!

    Contact

    • Contact
    • My Cookbook
    • Patreon

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © Pailin's Kitchen Inc. 2022