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
Kata Rocks Resort & Residences
The Chinese-inspired Moo Hong is a popular dish and for good reason. The slow-cooked pork belly with five spices, soy sauce, palm sugar and a hint of cinnamon offers a hearty main dish bursting with flavour, particularly Executive Chef Laia Pons’ version with a side of greens. Served at the Kata Rocks Clubhouse overlooking the azure Andaman Sea in Phuket, you’ll certainly feel on holiday enjoying the chef’s high-end cuisine paired with paradisical views.
Wine companion: Pork belly is naturally quite fatty so we are looking for a wine with a crisp cutting edge. A wide selection of wines are available at Kata Rocks, but I immediately went for a German riesling and Dr. Heger, Riesling Spätlese 2010 is alles gute. Powerful acidity a winner with pork!