Thai Street Food 3. Muu Bing

Muu Bing street vendor just outside my estate on the Mae Jo Rd Chiang Mai.
The cost 10 pieces for $1

Muu Bing (ไก่ปิ้ง)

Another great Thai street food snack is muu bing – grilled pork.  It is hard to walk past a grilled pork vendor without buying a few pieces to snack on. Thin slices of pork meat are skewered and marinated in a mixture of coriander root, coconut milk, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. They are then grilled over charcoal burners and the sugar caramelises and the pork pieces char around the edges. Sometimes a piece of fat is threaded at the bottom, and as it melts it keeps the meat soft and moist. If the meat itself is marbled and fatty, like a slice of bacon, the fat cooks to a char along with the meat.

The following is David Thompson's recipe for Muu Bing.

MAKES 12-15, ENOUGH FOR 4-5

Pork loin or neck 300g

Pork back fat (optional) 50g

Bamboo skewers 12-15

Coconut cream 4tbsp

For the marinade:

Coriander roots 1 tsp, cleaned and chopped

Pinch of salt

Garlic 1 tsp, chopped

Ground white pepper ½ tsp

Shaved palm sugar 2 tbsp

Dark soy sauce a dash

Fish sauce 2tbsp

Vegetable oil 2 tbsp

Slice the pork into thinnish pieces about 2cm square. Cut the pork fat, if using, into rectangles, say 2cm x 5mm.

Next make the marinade. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the coriander root, salt, garlic and pepper into a fine paste. Combine with the sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce and oil. Marinate the pork and fat in this mixture for about 3 hours. The more cautious can refrigerate this but, if doing so, then it is best marinated overnight.

It's a good idea to soak the bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes. This prevents them from scorching and burning as the pork grills.

Prepare the grill. Meanwhile, thread a piece of pork fat, if using, on to the skewer first followed by two or three pieces of the marinated pork. Repeat with each skewer. When the embers are glowing, in fact beginning to die, gently grill the skewers, turning quite often to prevent charring and promote even caramelisation and cooking. Dab them with the coconut cream as they grill. This should make the coals smoulder and impart a smoky taste. Grill all the skewers.

On the streets, they are reheated over the grill to warm them through before serving, but they are delicious warm or cool.