Garlic Pepper Pork

The most memorable dishes for Add and I usually involve simple ingredients and simplicity in cooking.  Like this popular dish - garlic pepper pork - that we came across at a small dirt road in Nakorn Srithammarat, a province in south Thailand. 

As we walked along the road, an irresistible aroma hit us. And quickly drew us to a roadside stall that served dishes, ala-carte style.  There was no menu, no price list. You simply told the cook-cum-waiter-cum-cashier what you wanted, and he cooked the dish on the spot for you. Like our zi-char hawker here.

Menu or prices were redundant because everybody knew the dishes the cook could whip up. Prices were standard too: a mere Baht 30 (about  S$1.50) for a plate of aromatic, garlicky pork slices! And for any other type of cooked food too! A foodie's heaven indeed!

Pork slices fried in a little oil to a perfect crispy brown, then salt, garlic, and pepper were added, the fire adjusted, a few deft stirs, more scrapping as the pork stuck to the roaring fiery wok. And finally the peppery pork slices were quickly and triumphantly dished up onto a plate, the garlicky aroma wafting around in a heady, intoxicating sensation!

Back home, I tried to duplicate what I had tasted. Success eluded me. Though I managed to produce passable garlic pepper pork, I couldn't get the sensational aroma and taste that greeted my nose and palate at that roadside stall. *sigh*

What did I do wrong? Did I miss some steps?  Perhaps used a wrong cut of pork?

You know - once you have tasted something extraordinary, you develop not only an insatiable craving for the dish, but also a compulsive desire to reproduce it.  Suddenly the feeling hit you - wham - and you just had to find out how. Hasn't that happened to you? After countless trials and looking up recipes on the net that ended in failure, I finally decided to let it go. Maybe do it my way. 

One morning I got a flash of inspiration. Instead of adding the pepper, garlic and salt during the stir fry - which required consummate skill, timing and judgment, skills I didn't possess - why not marinate the pork and set it aside in the fridge for 2 hr or longer? That way the garlic paste will infuse into the meat, enhancing and flavoring it more deeply.

That idea made the difference. For the first time since my trials, the pork turned out very nice!

So that's my secret for this recipe that is easy to reproduce.

Other aspects of the recipe preparation are just as important:

a - Use 350 gm pork shoulder for better chewy texture,

b - Slice thinly to cook evenly and quickly, but not too thin,

c - Cook at a temperature that is neither too high (burnt garlic is bitter) nor too low (aroma, flavors will not develop), and of course, you must ensure,

d - The correct proportion of salt, garlic and pepper vis-a-vis the pork quantity.

The proportion must be just right - the taste is missing if too little salt or pepper or garlic is used; too much pepper or salt and the dish is unpalatable. I  added a little sugar to balance the salt a bit. Add a bit of sesame oil to the spice mix after marinating to enable the flavors to mingle and mix. As you know, oil retards the absorption of marinade into the meat.

Another tip is to microwave the black peppercorns on 50% power setting for 2 minutes to get a more flavorful spice.

Ingredients:
Pork shoulder, about 350-400 gm.

Grind together in a mortar:

Spice mix
Fresh garlic - 1 head
Black pepper corns - 1 tbl
Salt - 1 ts
Splashes of oil, to aid blending

Add the finely ground spice mix to the pork. Let it rest in the fridge for 30-45 min. Cook over medium flame. Do not over-cook.

Best eaten with a bowl of freshly cooked jasmine rice, some veggies, and a glass of lemonade.

Verdict: Mouth-watering aroma and taste ! You must try it!

UPDATE: 17-Jan-2011
Other methods to prepare garlic pepper pork:

1 - Marinade the pork slices with oyster sauce, sugar. Add corn starch to the pork before frying. Deep fry until the pork is crisp and nicely browned.

2 - Add crushed black pepper and previously fried golden garlic and continue to fry for another minute. That is all !