Thai Kua Gling | คั่วกลิ้ง

Kua Gling is a classic Southern Thai dry meat curry that's bold, fiery and aromatic. Ready in just 20 minutes, this dish is best served with steamed rice and fresh vegetables such as long beans, cabbage, and cucumber.

Why This Recipe Works

Kua gling คั่วกลิ้ง is a southen Thai dish you'll find in every restaurant serving Southern Thai food in Thailand (often along with stink bean stir-fry). It's basically a dry meat curry that can be made with pretty much any type of protein you want.

Once you have the Southern Thai curry paste, it's super easy to make and ready in 20 minutes, making it the perfect midnight meal!

As for the flavor, it's bold, spicy, and aromatic. This is why it's always served with steamed rice and fresh vegetables (a great way to get your fiber in).

Pair kua gling with neutral dishes like daikon soup, Thai-style potato soup, Thai omelette, or even just boiled eggs, and there you have a complete special Thai meal!

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Ingredient Notes

Ground Pork: Use ground pork with just a little to none fat for kua gling. It tastes better and kua gling is supposed to be a semi healthy stir-fry. You can use beef or chicken if you prefer.

Southern Thai curry paste: Kua gling requires a Southern Thai curry paste. This curry paste it full of herbs and laced with turmeric. It's not to be substituted with other types of Thai curry pastes.

Sugar: This is used to balance out the salty and spicy flavors of this dish.

Kaffir Lime Leaves: . It's best to finely slice the kaffir lime leaves to get the most fragrance out of them. This assures you get them in every bite, too.

Bird's Eye Chilis: Go for the red ones if you can, as they make the dish look more appealing when mixed together with the kaffir lime leaves.

Instructions

Step 1: Add the oil to a wok over medium heat and add ground pork. Stir the pork until it is cooked through.

Step 2: Add the Southern Thai curry paste and mix it with the pork.

Step 3: Add the fish sauce and sugar and mix with the rest of the ingredients.

Step 4: Add the kaffir lime leaves and chilis for extra fragrance and color and stir for 1 more minute. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.

Tips

1. Most Thai stir-fries will require you to fry the aromas first. But for kua gling, you want to cook the meat before so that it's dry. When frying the meat, scrape the bottom of your pan to prevent scorching.

2. Use fresh kaffir lime leaves rather than dried if you can find them. They are so much more fragrant.

How To Serve

This dish is always served with steamed rice as it’s too hot on its own.

Also, fresh vegetables are crucial for true Southern Thai meal. Long beans, cabbage, and cucumber are some examples of what you can serve with kua gling.

Make yourself a glass of strawberry matcha latte to enjoy with the meal!

Storage and Reheating

This pork kua gling can be stored in an airtight container the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To reheat, simply microwave for 3 minutes or quickly reheat in a pan over medium heat.

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