moo krob / crispy pork: gift from the gods

ever since i was going to chinese restaurants as a child i have loved crispy pork. stir fried, in rich brown stews with seared garlic, vegetables and soft tofu, or simply with a side of rice and some chili sauce. here in thailand it is known as moo krob หมูกรอบ . moo = pork and krob = crispy. it is such a simple food. air-dried pork belly (what the thais call moo sam chan, three layered pork) which is then deep-fried until golden brown and super crispy. in chinese: siew yoke. the recipe is a bit different though. which ever style yo use, i am sure you will fall in love with it if you haven't already.

when i was in new york city working as a private chef i was asked to make a lot of asian food. i knew that moo krob would be a crowd pleaser, and i wanted to stir-fry it with khana or as the chinese say gailan. this is a dish known as phak khana mu krop ผักคะน้าหมูกรอบ. rather than buy it from a vendor i decided to make my own. i found a great little chinese butcher in china town near the corner of bayard and mulberry streets @ 69 mulberry street.

map to the chinese butcher shop @ 69 mulberry street

this is also where i purchased super fresh, over-sized fresh hams to make shang hai ham from. very friendly guy. he was so happy to see a gwai lo who was into trying to cook authentic chinese food. he was always helpful and always gave me a deal. he would also cut my meat for me personally rather than have someone else in the store do it. chinatown, and that kind of person, is one of the things i miss about nyc, and not a whole lot else.

but, i digress as always.

most recipes for crispy pork entail using a rub or marinade (see recipe links above). i have never done that. i simply scrub the meat under cold running water, air dry it with a fan or in front of an air conditioner if it is a very hot day, and then either deep fry the entire piece, or cut it into strip and fry them separately. cutting it into strips means that the pieces get crispy on 4 sides instead of two. the end result is this:

click here to see close-up pix of this beautiful piece of culinary wonder.

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how could anyone resist such temptation? makes a great additive to fried rice, and also goes great on a picnic. cut into bite sized pieces and served with the chili sauce it would be great for a cocktail party snack.