Spicy Pork Belly Soup

This recipe shows you how to make a delicious spicy and sour tom yum style soup using pork belly, whole shallots, morning glory leaves, and cherry tomatoes. We start by slowly cooking the pork in a rich herbal broth flavored with lemongrass, galangal, kiffir lime leaves, and hot chili until the layers of skin, fat, and meat are soft and juicy. To round out the flavor we then add fresh squeezed lime juice and fish sauce, so the soup has a nice balance of spicy, salty, sour, and slightly sweet flavors. Because it requires at least an hour or more to prepare, you may not ever see Tum Yum Moo Saam Chan on the menu at your favorite Thai restaurant. Please give it a try and let us know what you think. It's one or our favorite Thai soups.

Yield: 2 - 4 servings

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cooking time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes

Ready in: 1 1/2 Hours

Ingredients:

400 Grams Pork Belly
1 stalk Lemongrass
2 - 3 healthy slices Galangal Root
5 - 6 large cloves Garlic
8 - 10 Red Shallots
8 - 10 small Cherry Tomatoes
10 stalks Water morning glory
5 - 6 Thai Hot Chili
3 - 4 fresh Limes
6 - 8 Kaffir Lime leaves
1 Tablespoon Coconut Sugar
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
4 - 6 Cups Water

Basic Directions:

1) Grind the garlic and chili, then fry it in the bottom of your soup pan with a little oil. Add the coconut sugar and some water. Stir until the sugar melts and the water evaporates. Fry the pork belly in the herbs and sugar until well browned.

2) Add water, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, and chilies. Boil slowly, covered, for about 1 hour or until the pork belly is very soft.

3) Season with lime juice and fish sauce. Add the whole shallots and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

4) Add the morning glory plant and cherry tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Serve in a large bowl, garnished with fresh kaffir lime leaves and cilantro, and with steamed rice on the side.