Moo Krong Kraeng

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; [email protected]

Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel

An excellent example of the unique blend of flavours, textures and seasonings found in Thai cuisine, the delightful Moo Krong Kraeng at Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel’s Spice Market combines Thais’ love for deep-fried treats balanced with fresh ingredients. To make the bite-sized morsels, minced pork is combined with sugar, light soy sauce and wheat flour to create a meatball that is then deep-fried. Drizzled on top of the fried bite is a caramelised sauce of coconut sugar, coriander root, garlic and white peppercorns. Head Chef Warinthorn Sumrithphon then serves the dish with a palate-cleansing cucumber relish. 

Wine companion: Explosions of sweetness occur when you bite into one of these morsels. This cries out for something different, so I’m going with a beer, and there are plenty to choose from on the list. A glass of fresh Leffe Blonde from Belgium will cool and balance this sweet encounter.

anantara.com/en/siam-bangkok