Pailin "Pai" Chongchitnant is the beloved cookbook author and YouTube host behind Hot Thai Kitchen and Pailin's Kitchen, where she's spent more than a decade demystifying authentic Thai cooking for home cooks around the world. Classically trained and raised in southern Thailand, Pai has a gift for explaining why a dish works — not just how to make it — and this Instant Pot adaptation of Kai Palo is a perfect showcase of that thoughtful approach.
About the Recipe
Kai Palo (ไข่พะโล้) is a part-soup, part-stew Thai comfort classic built around hard-boiled eggs, tender pork belly, and springy tofu puffs simmered in an aromatic five-spice broth. The flavor is unmistakably Thai-Chinese — deeply savory from soy and palm sugar, sweet without being cloying, and perfumed with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and white pepper. Traditionally, this dish demands hours of gentle simmering on the stove to coax collagen from the pork belly and allow the eggs to drink in the spiced broth. The Instant Pot compresses that slow magic into a fraction of the time while preserving every layer of flavor.
Key Tips from the Video
- Bloom the spices first. Toast the five-spice aromatics and fry the garlic in oil before pressure cooking so the broth tastes richer and more fragrant from the very first bite.
- Pre-fry the pork belly. A quick sear on sauté mode adds a caramelized depth that pure pressure cooking alone can't replicate.
- Pre-boil the eggs separately. Peel them before adding to the pot so the spiced broth can stain and season each one evenly.
- Don't skip the palm sugar. It's what gives Kai Palo its signature round sweetness — granulated sugar behaves differently and will leave the broth one-dimensional.
- Let it rest. The stew tastes even better after the flavors meld, so give it 10–15 minutes off heat before serving over rice.
Watch Pai Walk Through It
In this episode, Pai breaks down both the stovetop and Instant Pot methods side by side, explaining exactly when the pressure cooker is the smarter call and how to nail the five-spice balance. Her clear, unhurried style makes even unfamiliar ingredients feel approachable.
A Quick Cookware Note
If you want to stretch this recipe into a complete meal, our Stackable Insert Pans are a genuine time-saver — simmer the Kai Palo on the bottom of your Instant Pot while steaming jasmine rice in the upper insert at the same time. For hosting, one of our stainless steel Casseroles is ideal for transferring the finished stew to the table; the double-walled construction keeps the broth piping hot while you go back for seconds.
A Warm Sign-Off
Kai Palo is the kind of dish that turns a weeknight into something memorable. A bowl of spiced broth, a soft egg split in half, and pork belly that falls apart under a spoon — that's the reward. Give Pai's method a try, and let us know how yours turns out.
— The Artisan Cookware Co. Team
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