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Sach Kroeung Paem – Sweet Khmer Pork with Kroeung
Sach Kroeung Paem is sweet braised pork from Cambodia. Sach means meat and paem means sweet. You fry the slices in a red kroeung of lemongrass, galangal and dried chilies, let palm sugar melt at the edge of the wok and braise everything tender with fish sauce. At the end, you cook the sauce down to a sticky glaze. The dish tastes sweet, salty and of lemongrass, and you eat it with plenty of jasmine rice.
Sach Kroeung Paem – Sweet Khmer Pork with Kroeung
Laura Chen
4
20 minutes
40 minutes
420
Cambodian
Main course
Sach Kroeung Paem is Cambodian pork that you fry in red kroeung and cook down with palm sugar and fish sauce into a sticky, sweet-savory glaze. Paem means sweet, and the caramelized palm sugar sets the dish apart from fried beef with kroeung. You eat it with jasmine rice.
Ingredients
For the red kroeung (Khmer spice paste):
- 2 stalks lemongrass, lower third in fine rings
- 20 g galangal (Thai ginger), peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 shallots
- 4 makrut lime leaves (leaves of the makrut lime), center rib removed
- 3 dried red chilies, soaked for 10 minutes
For the meat:
- 600 g pork shoulder, in 5 mm thin slices
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 200 ml water
- 1 red onion, in wedges
- 1 red bell pepper, in strips
- 10 g cilantro leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Pound the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, makrut lime leaves and chilies in a mortar into a fine paste. In a blender, add 2 tbsp water.
- Heat the oil in the wok and fry the kroeung over medium heat for 4 minutes, until fragrant and the oil turns red.
- Add the meat and fry over high heat for 5 minutes, until pale all over.
- Push the meat aside, put the palm sugar at the edge and let it melt for 1 minute. Stir it in and pour in the fish sauce, soy sauce and water.
- Braise everything, covered, over low heat for 25 minutes, until the meat is tender.
- Take off the lid, add the onion and bell pepper and cook the sauce down for 5 minutes, until it turns glossy and clings to the meat.
- Sprinkle the cilantro over it and serve the meat with jasmine rice.
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