Think of Thai food and the first images that come to mind are fragrant herbs and aromatics — lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves — tropical fruits, creamy curries, stir-fried noodles and jasmine rice.
While these are all typical Thai ingredients and dishes, visitors to the Land of Smiles might be surprised to find that there’s another common ingredient found in everything from noodle soup and phad grapao to simply grilled on a stick — pork.
In the northern part of the country, pork plays a particularly prominent role with local sausages like naem, a fermented sour sausage, and sai oua, stuffed full of chillies and herbs, eaten both in dishes and on their own.
While pork may not be quite as prevalent in the rest of Thailand, specifically in the deep south where seafood and beef reign supreme, many Thai dishes show influences of traditional Chinese flavours and cooking techniques which regularly include the succulent meat.
At 5-star hotels across the country, talented chefs are raising the humble ingredient up to new levels and, with the Year of the Pig just around the corner in 2019, what better time to take a peek at some thoroughly indulgent pork dishes.
To bring out the flavours even more, the dish below highlights a pairing recommendation made by Bart Duykers of Andaman Wine Club from each restaurant’s wine list. andaman-wine-club.com; bartduykers@mac.com
Phuket Marriott Resort and Spa, Nai Yang Beach
Executive Sous Chef Worakant “Bon” Singha’s Moo Kua Klua at The Andaman Kitchen bursts with quintessential flavours. Lemongrass, fresh chilli, garlic and kaffir lime leaves infuse the pork belly with multiple layers of scents and flavours. Can’t quite put your finger on a certain taste? Perhaps it’s the fragrant pandan leaves that are fried with the dish as well. Once the pork belly has been stir-fried to the point where it’s slightly dried and crispy, all of the ingredients are placed on a spring roll wrapper for simple yet eye-catching styling.
Wine companion: The fragrant ingredients used in this dish shouldn’t be overpowered, but require a wine of sufficient strength. I’m going for cool rosé and i spotted one of my favourites, BY.OTT Cotes de Provence from France. The wine is voluptuous, with flavours of peach & apricot that add a fantastic freshness.