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    Home » Easy Vegan Recipes » Mains

    Khao Ka Moo: Vegan Pork Stew on Rice

    10 April, 2019 by Kip 4 Comments

    Kao ka moo is a dish of Teochew Chinese origin that is now firmly Thai. The flavour profile is salty and rich, with an underlying sweetness (although this recipe isn't as sweet as many versions you would find in central Thailand). Classed as aahaan jan diao, or a single plate dish for one diner, this style of food is is contrary to aahaan gap kao. The latter refers to the family style serving of multiple dishes to share alongside rice.

    Vegan Thai Pork Stew

    Etymologically, the name breaks down as follows:

    • kao: rice
    • ka: leg
    • moo: pork

    Hence the dish translates as rice with pig leg. But of course it's possible to enjoy this dish without using animals, so I use a mixture of fried tofu, TVP soya chunks, and yuba sticks. Sliced seitan or gluten mock duck is also suitable.

    Traditional accompaniments include pickled mustard greens, salty garlic chilli vinegar, raw garlic, and fresh bird's eye chillies. You can also serve kao ka moo with blanched kai lan (Chinese broccoli). The chilli vinegar and pickled mustard greens are bright enough to cut through the fattiness of the stew, which comes in the form of coconut oil instead of animal fat. 

    Vegan Kao Ka Moo

    ข้าวขาหมูวีแก้น

    A Thai recipe of Teochew Chinese origin, this is a vegan take on a classic comfort stew typically made with pig legs. I use a mix of fried tofu (not tofu puffs, though I'm sure these would be a tasty addition), TVP chunks, and yuba sticks. You can mix these up by omitting one and increasing the other. A plain seitan or gluten based mock duck will also work well. Serve this with steamed jasmine rice. This is a braised dish, so you will have more liquid than necessary leftover. I recommend freezing it to add to your next batch or using it as a soup noodle base.

    Thai vegan kao ka moo
    Chilli Garlic Vinegar Ingredients
    • ½ cup rice vinegar
    • 60 grams mild red or yellow chillies
    • 15 grams (3 large cloves) garlic
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • ¾ teaspoon salt
    Stew Ingredients
    • 2.5 litres water
    • 10 grams coriander root, roughly chopped
    • 5 large cloves garlic
    • 2 teaspoons white peppercorns
    • 1 teaspoon roughly ground black pepper
    • 20 grams (1 tablespoon) soft light palm sugar
    • 1 tablespoons pa lo (Thai five spice) powder
    • 5 tablespoons thin soy sauce
    • 3 tablespoons shaoxing rice wine
    • 3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
    • 1 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce
    • 1 tablespoon black soy sauce
    • 2-3 teaspoons refined coconut oil
    • 1½ teaspoons salt
    • 2 pandan leaves, knotted
    • 350 grams fried tofu, cut into approximate 1 inch pieces
    • 75 grams yuba sticks, snapped into 1-2 inch pieces
    • 1½ cup (75 grams) large TVP chunks
    • Pickled mustard greens, rinsed
    • Freshly steamed jasmine rice
    • Fresh coriander
    • Fresh bird's eye chillies and garlic
    Directions/Method
    1. Blend all of the chilli garlic vinegar ingredients to fine pieces. Heat chilli vinegar in a small saucepan for about a minute (you can skip the heating step if you prepare this condiment the day before). Decant to a heat proof glass jar.
    2. Use a pestle and mortar to pound the coriander root, garlic, and white peppercorns into a rough paste.
    3. Add the water to a large saucepan and knock the heat up to high. Add the paste from the previous step, ground black pepper, sugar, pa lo powder, thin soy sauce, rice wine, sweet soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, black soy sauce, refined coconut oil, salt, pandan leaves, yuba sticks, TVP, and fried tofu. When the liquid boils, bring the heat down to medium low. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours.
    4. When you're ready to eat, blanch of a leaf or two per person of mustard greens in the stock (for about a minute). Remove and slice.
    5. Dish up 1-1½ cups cooked rice per person and top with ¾-1 cup of stew (mostly solids with a little bit of stock). Top with the blanched pickled mustard green slices and fresh coriander. Serve alongside chilli garlic vinegar, raw bird's eye chillies, and raw garlic as condiments.
    • Author: Kip Dorrell
    • Serves: 6-8 with steamed jasmine rice
    • Cuisine: Thai

    More Mains

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    • Vegan cheesy cauliflower with Chinkiang vinegar
    • Thai style vegan chicken rice (khao man gai)
    • Vegan mee gati – Thai coconut milk noodles

    Reader Interactions

    I reserve the right to improve any malicious and trollish comments left below. Please do not comment about nonvegan products or activities.

    Comments

    1. Paul DeShaw

      April 17, 2019 at 2:22 am

      Oh man, the last time I had this was in the '80's. I was still carnivorous then. Next time I went back to Thailand, I went vegan. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Kip

        April 18, 2019 at 11:50 pm

        you're welcome!

        Reply
    2. Harri

      June 28, 2019 at 6:43 am

      This looks delicious, thanks for the recipe! I was just wondering if you add the chopped coriander root in step 2? I'm assuming this is the case but just checking. Also, do you know if you can substitute pa lo powder with Chinese five spice powder? I can't find any of the Thai blend where I live and google has not been forthcoming with recipes.

      Reply
      • Kip

        June 29, 2019 at 2:47 pm

        Hi Harri,

        Thank you for pointing out my mistake. I missed out the garlic, white peppers, and coriander root in the steps. Fixed now. As for the pa lo powder, yes, five spice will work. Just be cognizant of any added salt in the powder you buy and add less additional salt in the recipe if necessary.

        Reply
    3. I reserve the right to improve malicious and trollish comments.

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    Name's Kip. Some things about me: vegan, Thai food enthusiast, comfortably chaotic and disorganised, information lover, Londoner, cookbook collector, clumsy AF, rarely takes a serious photo, has never been on a diet. This is not a wellness blog.

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