Thai pork belly with yellow curry recipe with broiled bamboo shoots, gold potatoes, and sweet onion is easy with bold flavors. The creamy coconut milk adds a rich, lightly sweet, and savory flavor. It's a hearty dinner that will satisfy the whole family.
Elevate your curry recipes by making homemade authentic Thai yellow curry paste. Also, make this easy Thai yellow curry with chicken. Both are easy and delicious Thai yellow curry recipes.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love this Thai yellow curry
- What Goes into Thai Pork Belly with Yellow Curry Recipe?
- How to Make Thai Pork Belly with Yellow Curry
- Kitchen Notes/Expert Tips
- Substitutes
- Storing your leftover yellow curry
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Thai Recipes You'll Love
- Thai pork belly with yellow curry
Why You'll Love this Thai yellow curry
- You can easily adjust the spiciness level! And yellow curry paste is not as spicy as red or green curry.
- It's a hearty and fulfilling dish that will keep you full and satisfied for a long time.
- If you love pork belly and curries, this recipe has it all! The creamy coconut curry sauce cooked with pork belly makes this recipe extra savory and delicious!
- You can add extra vegetables to make this Thai dish healthier. Great vegetable options are bell peppers, green beans, snow peas, broccoli, carrots, and zucchini.
What Goes into Thai Pork Belly with Yellow Curry Recipe?
- Pork belly. Use pork shoulder or large cuts of bacon as a substitute
- Yellow curry paste. I used the Mae Ploy brand, a Thai curry paste brand common in the US Asian markets.
- Bamboo shoots. Use large and uncut bamboo for the best results when broiling. The smaller pieces don't hold up well in the broiler.
- Onion. White or red onions are fine.
- Potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes work great for this recipe. Cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Garlic. Feel free to add 1-2 extra pieces of garlic cloves for more flavor.
- Sugar. Brown or palm sugar works for this recipe.
- Fish sauce. Fish sauce adds umami salty flavors. Go light on it and add more toward the end.
- Thai basil. Italian basil will work—just a few extra pieces for a bold flavor.
- Oil. Use neutral oil like grape seed, avocado, or vegetable oil. No olive oil.
- Water. Stock will work, too.
Garnish with minced Thai red chili, fresh cilantro, thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, and ground white or black pepper.
How to Make Thai Pork Belly with Yellow Curry
As mentioned, this Thai pork curry recipe asks you to broil your vegetables before adding them to the sauce. This extra step will add a depth of flavor to the dish. Don’t skip it!
The tender and slightly chewy browned pork belly mixed with the broiled bamboo shoots, sweet yellow onion, and gold potatoes make this dish a hearty recipe.
Step 1. Soak bamboo in warm water for 10 minutes to remove the brine and tin-flavored taste from the can. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
Step 2. Turn the oven on to broil (500 degrees Fahrenheit). Brush the bamboo shoots, potatoes, and onion with a little oil or cooking oil spray. Broil for 15-20 minutes or until charred. (More or less time, depending on your oven.)
Keep a close eye on the broiler, as it can burn food quickly. Remove from the oven, and let cool while you make the curry sauce.
Step 3. Add the pork belly and garlic on medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes until the pork turns light golden brown. Add water gradually if the meat starts to brown too fast or sticky too much to the pan. Stir regularly.
Step 4. Lower the temperature to medium heat, and add the curry paste and garlic. Stir well.
Step 5. Add the coconut cream, stir, and cook until the sauce thickens. 3-5 minutes.
Step 6. Add the broiled vegetables and coconut milk, stir well, and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
Step 7. Add the fish sauce and sugar and let it simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Checking and stirring occasionally.
Step 8. Turn the heat off, add basil, and let the curry cool down slightly while you set your table. Serve hot with steamed rice. Enjoy!
Kitchen Notes/Expert Tips
- Curry paste. When using a store-bought paste, play around with the portion. Each brand has different levels of salt and spiciness. Use fish sauce, sugar, and water to adjust the flavors. Add more curry paste at the end for a spicier curry.
- Pork belly: While browning the pork belly, you may need to add water to the pot to help loosen up the meat sticking to the pot. Some pork belly is fatter than others, and the leaner meat you have on the pork, the more it will stick to the pan. Adding water helps.
- Cutting the pork belly: When cutting the pork belly, cut the meat to include all the layers of the pork. The meat, the fat, and the skin for the complete pork belly taste experience.
- Bamboo shoots: If possible, try to find whole bamboo tips for this Thai yellow curry recipe. See the ingredient shot for reference of the brand, packing, and the cut of bamboo I used. You want to keep the bamboo tips in larger chunks for easy broiling and a meatier texture. Some Asian markets may even carry the extra-large bamboo shoots in a large aluminum container where you can pick out your pieces. Always rinse the bamboo shoots before cooking.
- Fish sauce: Adjust the fish sauce and sugar as necessary, as each fish sauce has a different level of saltiness. I suggest using 1-3 tables of each ingredient and slowly adding to the curry until your taste bud is happy.
- Sugar: I’ve used monk fruit sugar, honey, and agave as substitutes for a more natural sweetener. Brown sugar works great for this recipe.
Substitutes
If you can't find pork belly, find the thickest bacon cut. Reduce the fish sauce amount by half and increase the sugar by 1-2 teaspoons if using cured bacon so your curry is not too salty.
Storing your leftover yellow curry
This yellow curry stores well as leftovers! Keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for a minute or so until warm for your next meal. The curry will have thickened a bit from the pork belly fat and coconut milk. Once reheated, it'll be all nice and creamy again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can freeze this yellow curry. Curries taste better the next day as leftovers because coconut milk binds the curry paste and all the ingredients together even more overnight, making the curry extra creamy. Freezing the leftovers, if you have any, is perfect for a quick meal.
You can pick any protein for your yellow curry. Beef, chicken, or duck can be used. This recipe uses pork belly for extra flavor, texture, and richness.
Like all Thai curries, Thai yellow curry is healthy as a paste. But the paste is never used alone without adding sauce or seasoning when cooked as a dish. It depends entirely on how the dish is prepared and what ingredients have been added to the paste that determines how healthy a dish is.
Using sugar and coconut milk adds calories, but you can easily adjust the amount used to make your curries healthier.
Related Thai Recipes You'll Love
- Easy Thai yellow curry with chicken
- Authentic Thai yellow curry paste
- Authentic homemade Thai red curry paste
- Authentic Thai green curry paste
- Prik Khing curry paste
- Easy red curry green beans with shrimp P
- Authentic Thai red curry recipe
- Thai red curry with chicken and kabocha squash
- Beef Massaman curry recipe
- Thai cucumber salad for satay
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Thai pork belly with yellow curry
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Thai pork belly with yellow curry recipe with broiled bamboo shoots, gold potatoes, and sweet onion is easy with bold flavors. The creamy coconut milk adds a rich, lightly sweet, and savory flavor. It's a hearty dinner that will satisfy the whole family fully.
Ingredients
- 8 oz bamboo tips, cut into 3 inches pieces and ½ inch thick
- 1 ½ cups sweet onion, chopped long and ¼ inch thin
- 1 ½ cup gold yellow potatoes cubed into 1/1-inch pieces
- 1 pound pork belly cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped small but not quite minced.
- Up to 1 cup water or as needed, *add to the pork belly gradually
- 2-3 tablespoons yellow curry paste or 2 tbsp store-bought.
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
- 2.5 tablespoons brown or palm sugar
- 2-2.5 tablespoons fish sauce
Instructions
- Soak bamboo in warm water for 10 minutes to remove the brine and tin-flavored taste from the can. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Turn the oven on to broil (500 degrees Fahrenheit). Brush the bamboo shoots, potatoes, and onion with a little oil or cooking oil spray. Broil for 15-20 minutes or until charred. (More or less time, depending on your oven.) Keep a close eye on the broiler, as it can burn food quickly. Remove from the oven, and let cool while you make the curry sauce.
- Add the pork belly and garlic on medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes until the pork turns a light golden brown. Add water gradually if the meat starts to brown too fast or sticky too much to the pan. Stir regularly.
- Lower the temperature to medium heat, and add the curry paste and garlic. Stir well.
- Add the coconut cream, stir, and cook until the sauce thickens. 3-5 minutes.
- Add the broiled vegetables and coconut milk, stir well and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the fish sauce and sugar and let it simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Checking and stirring occasionally.
- Turn the heat off, add basil and let the curry cool down while you set your table. Serve hot with steamed rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- Curry paste. When using a store-bought paste play around with the portion. Each brand has different levels of salt and spiciness. Use fish sauce, sugar, and water to adjust the flavors. Add more curry paste at the end for a spicier curry.
- Pork belly: While browning the pork belly, you may need to add water to the pot to help loosen up the meat sticking to the pot. Some pork belly has fatter than others, and the leaner meat you have on the pork, the more it will stick to the pan. Adding water helps.
- Cutting the pork belly: When cutting the pork belly, try to cut the meat to include all the layers of the pork. The meat, the fat, and the skin for the complete pork belly taste experience.
- Bamboo shoots: For this Thai yellow curry recipe, try to find whole bamboo tips if possible. See the ingredient shot for reference of the brand, packing, and the cut of bamboo I used. You want to keep the bamboo tips in larger chunks for easy broiling and a meatier texture. Some Asian markets may even carry the extra-large bamboo shoots in a large aluminum container where you can pick out your pieces. Always rinse the bamboo shoots before cooking.
- Fish sauce: Adjust the fish sauce and sugar as necessary, as each fish sauce has a different level of saltiness. I suggest using 1-3 tables of each ingredient and slowly adding to the curry until your taste bud is happy.
- Sugar: I’ve used monk fruit sugar, honey, and agave as substitutes for a more natural sweetener. Brown sugar works great for this recipe.
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- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: Curries
- Method: Stovestop
- Cuisine: Thai
Ongjung says
Amazing cookies. Thank you for sharing recipes.
Edward says
Tasty! Thank you. The roasting of bamboo really elevate the flavors!
Suwanee says
Hi Amber,
Thank you for pointing that out! I fixed it now. Use 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic for this recipe. Hope you'll enjoy it!
-Suwanee
Amber says
How much garlic? Can't see it in the recipe, only the instructions.
Becky says
Super clear instructions and SO delicious!
Ann says
A perfect winter recipe. So hearty & full if flavors!