Want to learn how to cook one of those Thai dishes which rarely hits the foreigner friendly menu translated into English? Look no further.
Moo tod kratiem prik Thai,หมูทอดกระเทียมพริกไทย, deep fried pork with garlic and pepper is one of those dishes that Thai people seem to be particularly fond of. Believe it or not, this is actually a breakfast favorite -From north to south.
On my last visit to BKK a couple of weeks back I practiced my Thai language skills all the time. Surprise, surprise there was a lot of food related discussions going on. However, on dish kept popping up when talking to random people.
Moo tod kratiem prik Thai is a really basic Thai dish. Easy enough to cook and delicious enough to eat on a daily basis for a week or two, though you might want to reconsider my last statement if you want live a reasonably healthy life.
Moo tod Kratiem prik Thai, 2 large servings.
350 gram pork, loin or chop
15 garlic cloves
2 tbsp cornstarch
1-2 tsp golden mountain or maggi soy sauce
½ tsp finely ground white pepper
½ tsp finely ground black pepper
½ tsp sugar
Pinch of MSG(optional)
2 cups vegetable oil
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Heat 2 cups of vegetable oil until piping hot, preferably in a wok. Slice pork in thin slices(about 1/6 inch thick). Coat in cornstarch and deep-fry until golden crisp, my advice is to do the deep-frying in two batches. Drain on kitchen towel and pat dry. Do not overcook the pork, it should still be juicy.
Lower the heat to medium. Peel, crush and slice the garlic cloves into chunky slices, deep-fry the garlic until slightly golden and fragrant. Drain on kitchen towel and pat dry. Make sure not to burn the garlic as it will make the taste horribly bitter.
Drain the vegetable oil and clean the wok, then add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and put the wok back on medium heat. Add deep-fried pork and stir-fry for a minute, then add golden mountain sauce. Then quickly add ground pepper, sugar and MSG -stir-fry for a minute or two on low heat.
Finally add the deep-fried garlic and serve on jasmine rice. The fried egg on top is optional but recommended. I like to add some vegetables and herbs, preferably lettuce, coriander and cucumber.
Good one,
TJG
