Tyson Foods stock reached a 52-week low today, hitting $47.11 per share. Lower prices for beef and pork has cut into their most recent earnings. Bad for Tysons, but good for us! Country ribs were $1.99/lb at Costco, each pack weighing 6-8 pound. Make this dish with half the pork and freeze the rest for another use, perhaps char siu?
Bai sai chouk is a classic Cambodian dish of marinated sliced pork served with a sweet and salty dipping sauce and a side of pickled vegetables. I started making this dish because it’s easy to marinate a large quantity, easy to cook up, and reheats perfectly. This pork dish pairs perfectly with white rice and a side veggie. Use fish sauce – it only tastes and smells…like fermented fish…out of the bottle.
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs pork butt – sliced thinly
- High smoke point oil like vegetable oil or avocado oil
Marinade:
- 35g garlic (about 7 cloves)
- 75g light soy sauce
- 50g fish sauce
- 15g white sugar*
- 15g light brown sugar*
- 20g lime juice
- 180g coconut milk
- 3 Thai chili peppers
*The traditional recipe calls for palm sugar. That’s not something that’s in my pantry so I opted for a combination of white and light brown sugar. Palm sugar has a flavor reminiscent of caramel and may have smoky overtones or hints of maple. Some detect notes of butterscotch. In general, it has more complexity and is less sweet than refined white sugar and brown sugars.
Marinade Instructions
- Cut the pork into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick. Length doesn’t matter here but if I had to pick, 4 inches is perfect. Pro-tip: pop the pork in the freezer for an hour to partially freeze the meat and make it easier to slice thinly.
- In a food processor, add the garlic first and blitz until finely chopped.
- Add the rest of the marinade ingredients to the food processor. Use a low or medium setting to mix everything.
- Combine the marinade and pork in a sealable container and store in the fridge for minimum of 3 hours and a max of 2 days.
Cooking Instructions
- Prep a stainless steel skillet. Heat over high heat until water beads on the surface. Turn the heat to medium-high.
- Add 1 tbsp of high-smoke point oil, then enough marinated pork to have one even layer. In chef-y terms, cook in batches.
- Flip your meat often, starting every 30 seconds then increasing frequency as the marinade caramelizes and sticks to the pork.
- If cooking another batch, de-glaze the skillet, reserve the liquid for veggies or discard, and add oil and another layer of pork.
Bonus Veggie Side Dish
- In the seasoned pan with the fond, add any hearty vegetable like green beans, brussel sprouts, or broccoli.
- Sauté for a few minutes then toss in a few slices of fresh garlic.
- De-glaze the pan with water, stock, shaoxing wine, or the reserved liquid from a prior batch.
- Season with salt as needed.
Serves: 6 people
Yummy Treks 