Melt in your mouth pork belly with crispy skin, in a spicy, sweet and salty Thai curry sauce. An absolute match made in heaven. This delicious Thai pork belly curry takes time but the results are well worth it. Perfect for a weekend 'fake away' at home.
Ready to cook up a storm in the kitchen, let us show you how!

You will love the rich and creamy sauce we create in this recipe. Follow Chef Shane's tips for cooking the Thai curry paste and coconut cream to create an irresistible sauce! We are big fans of Thai food. From curries to salads, the balance of flavour always takes your taste buds on a journey. Thai food is such a great cuisine to get confident cooking at home and freshly made is always better than your take away version. Our Thai seafood salad, Thai chicken laksa or our go to nam jim Thai dressing are a must try!
Jump to:
Ingredients
For the pork belly:
- 1.2 kg Pork belly (skin on)
- Sea salt.
Thai yellow curry sauce:
- Oil
- Thai yellow curry paste - choice a good quality, authentic brand. We love the Mae Ploy brand.
- Coconut cream - Again we recommend a good quality product to bring a nice creaminess to the sauce. If you have Kara products available in your region, we highly recommend using them.
- Coconut milk - same note as above go with a good quality product.
- Eggplant / Aubergine - works amazingly with the creamy Thai sauce. You could substitute with courgettes / zucchini.
- Fresh pineapple - The fresh texture works best but tinned works too, if fresh pineapple isn't available to you, make sure to drain them well.
- Green beans - lightly cooked they bring a crunchy texture.
- Baby corn - tinned.
- Fish sauce - a classic Thai ingredient with a strong aroma that balances the sauce beautifully. Can be found in most supermarkets or your local Asian store.
- Palm sugar - A less refined sweeneter made from palm sap, with a caramel flavour, a popular sugar alternative found in most supermarkets.
- Lime- juice only.
Toppings (optional):
- Red chilli - sliced thinly, allows people to add their own level of heat.
- Coriander leaves / cilantro - fresh
- Crispy shallots - a delicious topping for a hit of crunch and flavour.
Jasmine rice:
Use 1.5 cups of rice and 3 cups of water, for the perfect jasmine rice. (Or substitute with your favourite rice).
You might also love.
How to cook pork belly.
Pork belly that has been slow cooked and pressed gives the meat a lovely texture. Creating a combination between the layers of the meat and fattiness, add to this the crispy crackling skin, for a delicious dish!
This process is simple though it takes time but all good things are worth waiting for!
We highly recommend cooking the pork belly the day before, allowing it the chill and press over night. Allowing you to cut clean, even portions.
You will need a dish that is big enough to fit the pork belly and will also fit in your oven. Line this dish with some greaseproof paper. Season the flesh side of the pork belly with a good pinch of salt and place into your dish. Place a piece of greaseproof paper on top of the pork and cover the entire dish with foil, making sure its well sealed. Cook for 4 hours at 140 °C / 280 °F.
How to press pork belly.
Cooking the pork a day ahead, gives you time to press the pork overnight.
Once the pork is cooked, remove the foil and find a board that fits nicely on top of the pork belly. Then add a good amount of weight on top of this to press the pork. Leave in the fridge overnight.
This will give you a nice flat piece of cooked pork belly, making it perfect for the next step of crisping the skin and cutting nice portions.
Trim your pork belly into 4 equal portions. Keep any leftovers, they are perfect for throwing into various Asian dishes like noodles, fried rice or ramen soup.
#Pro chefs tip
How to make a rich Thai curry sauce.
Most people fry off the curry paste a little, add the coconut cream, heat and job done. But here is a little tip that will change the way you make your Thai curry sauces from now on!
The secret is to simmer the coconut cream in a pan until the natural oils split or separate from the coconut cream. Once it has separated add the curry paste and the oil will cook out the curry paste.
Stir now and again so it doesn't stick to the base of the pan. Cook the paste in the oil for 3-4 minutes.
It may look 'messy' but add the can of coconut milk to pull the sauce back together. Then add the fish sauce, grated palm sugar and lime juice to season and balance the sauce.
As always Thai food is about perfect balance of flavour so tastes, taste, taste as you go.
This method creates a rich creamy sauce that is mellow in spice, as you have allowed time to cook out the paste.
Other dish ideas.
This Thai pork belly curry recipe is a great dish for wowing your family and friends. The process may take time but it is also simple. Once you have cracked the curry sauce method it can be used for a variety of dishes.
For example Thai red, green, Penang or massaman pastes along with your favourite protein, chicken, roasted duck, prawns, mussels all work well. Yum so many future delicious dishes to make! (We are hungry now too!)
Love this dish? Please leave us a review below. And come join us on social, tag us in your delicious photos Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Hungry for more deliciousness? Subscribe to our newsletter, to receive our latest e-recipe book and never miss another ATK recipe!
Our goal is to share simple, tasty dishes created by Chef Shane and partner, Sara. Using Shane's understanding of flavours and knowledge of food, to teach and inspire you to create delicious food everyday and gain a new level of confidence in the kitchen. Sara understands what it's like preparing weekly dinners for a busy family of five and likes to create dishes that are easy, full of flavour and that the whole family will enjoy.
Happy cooking!
Recipe
Thai Pork Belly Curry
Ingredients
Pork Belly
- 1.2 kg Skin on pork belly (2.6 pounds)
- 1 tablespoon Sea salt
Thai Yellow Curry
- 2 tablespoon Canola oil
- 4 tablespoon Thai yellow curry paste See note 1
- 400 ml Coconut Cream (13.5 fl oz) See note 2
- 400 ml Coconut Milk (13.5 fl oz)
- ¼ Eggplant / Aubergine
- ¼ Fresh Pineapple Peeled and cut into cubes
- 200 g Green Beans )7 oz) Trimmed
- ½ tin Baby Corn Cut in half
- 4 tablespoon Fish Sauce
- 2 tablespoon Palm Sugar Grated
- 1 Lime Juice only
Garnishes (Optional)
- 1 Red Chilli Thinly sliced
- Bunch Fresh coriander / cilantro Picked leaves
- 2 tablespoon Crispy shallots
Jasmine Rice
- 1.5 cups Jasmine Rice
- 3 cups Water
Instructions
For The Pork Belly
- Preheat oven to 140 °C / 280 °F
- Use a deep roasting tray and line the bottom with a piece of greaseproof paper. Season the pork belly with a good pinch of salt on the flesh side. Place the pork belly into the tray and cover with another piece of greaseproof paper.
- Cover the whole dish with tin foil, seal tight and place into the pre heated oven.
- Cook for 4 hours.
To press the pork overnight. (See note 3)
- Remove from the oven and take off the foil. Place a board on top of the pork belly and add a heavy weight to press the pork belly.
- Allow to cool, then place in the fridge overnight.
Crisp skin and reheat.
- Preheat oven to 180 °C / 355 °F
- Cut the pork belly into 4 equal portions.
- Heat a non-stick (ovenproof) pan with a little canola oil, place the pork belly pieces skin side down, pressing firmly with a spatula. Doing this ensures that all of the skin gets heat and starts crisping.
- Place into the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
Thai Curry Sauce.
- Prepare all the curry and garnish ingredients.
- Heat a medium pot then add the coconut cream, reduce until the oil splits from the coconut cream.
- Add the curry paste and cook in the coconut oil for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring so the sauce doesn't stick to the pan.
- Once you have cooked out the paste, add the coconut milk and stir as you go, this will bring the sauce back together.
- Balance and season the curry sauce with the fish sauce, grated palm sugar and lime juice.
- In a fry pan, fry the eggplant in a little oil until golden and soft.
- Add your fried eggplant, cut pineapple, green beans and baby corn to the Thai curry sauce and bring to a simmer to warm through.
To cook the jasmine rice (Prepare while sauce is simmering)
- Place the jasmine rice into a sieve and rinse well under running cold water until the water runs clear through the rice. This washes off the excess starch.
- Place the washed rice into a medium pot and add the water.
- Place a lid on your pot and bring to the boil, once you have a rapid boil turn down to low, do not remove the lid.
- Allow the rice to cook on low until the water is absorbed. This will take around 8 minutes.
- Once all the water has been absorbed leave the lid on and set aside for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff up the rice with a fork.
To Assemble
- Cut the crispy skin pork belly portions into 3 pieces, cut from the flesh side down (this is easier than cutting through the crispy skin).
- Place into your serving bowls and spoon around the curry sauce, share the pineapple, corn, beans and eggplant among the dishes.
- Sprinkle over the crispy shallots, fresh coriander and slice red chilli.
- Serve and enjoy!
Dana says
This is unreal! I love curry and pork belly respectively, but never thought of bringing them together. So glad I found this recipe because this was an absolute TREAT.
Mirlene says
Love pork belly especially when its skin is crispy! The curry sauce was super delicious too.
MacKenzie says
This Thai dish was amazing. The pork combined with yellow curry was better than takeout. I can’t wait to make again.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood says
Love pork belly and this is technique for the tender pork and crispy skin is good to know. My family will love this.