Moo Ping, Som Tam & Khao Nieow (Grilled Pork Skewers, Papaya Salad & Sticky Rice)

If I was to ever find myself on death row and had to pick a final meal, it would be this. Everything about these three relatively simple components equals complete perfection. Ever so slightly charred, grilled pork skewers (moo ping), juicy and rich with garlic and black pepper with a hint of coconut. My long time favourite, som tam (papaya salad) with it's addictive crunch and astringent sour and hot flavours and to round the whole thing off and soak up all the flavours; sticky rice (khao niew) eaten by hand. It's no wonder they're regularly found in this combined set in Thailand.

Isaan (or north eastern Thai) food is for me the pinnacle of Thai food. The use of fresh herbs and strong pungent flavours, paired with grilled meats, salads and less use of creamy/soupy based dishes equates to food heaven for me.

Doing these dishes also gave me chance to try out and show off some of my new kitchenware- the large terracotta mortar and wooden pestle (informally known as a pokpok) used for gently bashing ingredients- ideal for som tam and the woven sticky rice holder- which I lined with cling film before putting the rice in. It keeps the rice warm and finished off the cooking so the rice is the proper consistency at serving.

For the moo ping skewers (this makes 6 large) use:

• 3 pork steaks (ideally with some fat, though cut off any large rinds), cut into thin pieces
• a small handful of coriander stalks or roots
• a teaspoon of black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• a big splash of oyster sauce
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of fish sauce
• a big pinch of brown or palm sugar
• 100ml of coconut cream (the thick part off the top of a can)
• 6 bamboo skewers

In a mortar (a regular granite one, not the terracotta one above) bash up the black pepper, garlic and coriander stalks into a paste. Add this to a bowl along with the pork pieces. As a rough guide for the pork, I cut each steak into three strips lengthways and then thinly sliced each strip across (roughly 4mm wide.) I ended up with lots of small pieces. 

Into the bowl add in the three sauces and sugar, mix well and leave to marinade for around an hour.

In the meantime, soak the skewers in water (a tall flower vase works well!) so when you grill them they won't burn.

If you make a som tam salad or are doing sticky rice, now is the time to prepare the ingredients and get them ready.

Here's the link, Som Tam Recipe - it was the second ever recipe I did for this blog!

For the sticky rise it's best to just follow the recipe on the packet/ bag that you're using as it'll require a fairly specific quantity of water.

Back to the pork. Take the skewers out of the water and begin to thread the meat onto the stick; the meat strips should sit perpendicular (across) the skewer, not lengthways along it. Skewer it through the thinnest edge so that the maximum amount of meat is exposed to the grill and is easier to pull off when eating. Put plenty of meat on each skewer and pack it down; don't worry about the cooking- it's thin pieces so it will cook through.

Heat the grill medium-high and place onto a wire rack or as I did, on a baking tray with the edges of the bamboo skewers resting on either side of the tray so the meat sits clear of the bottom. The grilling takes about 10-15 minutes and twice during the cooking, take the skewers out and baste them with a light coating of the coconut cream. They're ready when they're a little smoky, have a little bit of light char and and golden brown.

Serve with the som tam and sticky rice- you'll thank me!

Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad)

Som Tam (Green papaya salad)

I am addicted to som tam, yes, it’s a salad and that’s not something you’ll often hear. But som tam is no ordinary salad- it’s quintessentially Thai- it balances sweet, fiercely hot, sour and salty flavours and an awesomely crunchy texture. The juices dribble down your chin and the heat makes your nose and eyes run and leaves you looking somewhat spaced out. Give it a go and you’ll soon be addicted too! This salad, whilst made with several Thai ingredients, is an easy one to find excellent substitutes for.

For two portions you’ll need-

• An unripe green papaya (substitute 3 large carrots) 

• 3 snake or long beans, trimmed and chopped in pieces (10 regular green beans are a perfect substitute)

          

• 8 cherry tomatoes, halved


• the juice of 2 limes


• a good splash of fish sauce (called Nam Pla in Thai) don’t be tempted to use soy sauce- it doesn’t work. All the main supermarkets sell fish sauce


• a handful of salted peanuts


• 4 cloves of garlic peeled


• a dessert spoon of sugar (more or less to your taste)


• small red chillies, chopped roughly (however many you can handle! I use 4)

Like many Thai dishes, the recipe starts with a  paste. You’ll need a pestle and mortar (or improvise with a plastic/ metal bowl and the end of a rolling pin) Bash up the garlic cloves and chillies and sugar, only lightly though- you are only breaking it up a little. Add the lime juice and fish sauce to loosen everything and pop into a bowl. Next throw the bean pieces into the mortar and lightly bash them up too, tip in your bowl, Tomatoes next, again only very lightly to get the juices- throw them in the bowl too. Now the peanuts, lightly crush- throw half in the bowl and keep half back to top the salad with. Finally, with your papaya (or carrots) start by peeling the skin off. There’s basically two ways to prepare them- the fancy way (and probably safer/quicker) is to use a julienne peeler that cuts ribbons, I found graters are too fine and you end up with a pile of mush. If you really get into som tams like I did- I ended up ordering a gadget called a KomKom direct from Thailand- it was only a few pounds and shreds wonderfully.



However, if you like to live life on the edge and have no qualms about serious injury to hands and fingers, prepare your papaya in true thai style, get the largest knife/cleaver you have and holding the papaya, whack deep vertical lines all round, keep turning the papaya as you go. Eventually when you’ve done enough damage, shave the layers off the papaya. Check this youtube video for an example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHUC8he02fU

Finally, throw the papaya shreds in the bowl with everything else, give everything a good mix around, let the salad sit for ten minutes for the flavours to develop and serve up, sprinkling the top with the remaining peanuts. If all goes to plan, five minutes later you’ll be  puffing and blowing with burning lips and a streaming nose but you’ll be back for more, soon enough…