The Meatwave

No recipe request I've taken from my wife has been as monumental as fried pork belly nam tok. Nam tok, aka waterfall salad, is one of my most ordered dishes at Thai restaurants, but the majority of the time it's constructed from grilled beef. It was on some random Thai Youtube channel that my wife saw people eating nam tok, but with crispy fried pork belly instead of beef, and once I tried it out soon after she showed me that, it's been in our regular dinner rotation. I usually utilize pork belly that I first boil, then fry, much like Filipino lechon kawali, but I wondered what would happen if I smoked the belly first, and the answer was only positive.

When I boil the pork belly, I usually season the water with garlic and soy sauce, but since smoking is a dry heat method, I figured I could do a more traditional preparation. So I began this much in the same way as my beef nam tok recipe, putting together a seasoning mixture of pounded lemongrass and black pepper mixed with Thai thin sauce.

I rubbed this all over two pieces of boneless, skin-on pork belly, then set them in the fridge to marinate for a couple hours. The pork then went into the smoker, which I had running at 225°F with some apple wood chunks tossed on the coals for a smokey touch that would fall on the lighter side.

One this day I did some experimentation on the best temperature to smoke the belly to for the best end results after being fried later. The answer came out to be that smoking longer was preferable since the fat was softer after being fried, without a major difference in the meatier parts of the cut. The highest temperature I went to was 185°F in the thickest part of the belly, which took over five to reach for this particular piece of pork.

I let the belly cool completely in the fridge once it was done in the smoker, and during that time I assembled the salad dressing. This is composed of the Thai standard bearers of fish sauce, lime juice, and a toasted chili powder that combine to form that hallmark salty, savory, acidic, and spicy flavor. Also in the mix was lemongrass sugar, beef stock, and lime juice, which were all heated until warmed, then set aside.

For pork that's both ideally crunchy on the outside, but still juicy on the inside, cutting the slices at least one-inch thick is a must—less than that and you risk drying out the meat before the exterior fulls browns and crisp. I was making the salad for a crowd on this particular day, so I actually sliced up two pieces of belly and fried them all in batches.

In the 375°F oil, I put in five to six slices at a time and allowed them to cook, flipping occasionally, until they were very well browned all over. During this time, the skin also crisped up to the ideal crackling texture, although it was a little denser than what I'm used to with boiled pork belly.

After all the pork was fried up, I cut each piece into bite-sized bits and placed them all in a large bowl. The salad assembly then commenced with the addition of sliced shallot, cilantro, mint, toasted rice powder, and the dressing before I transferred it to a bowl and served.

Knowing how much my wife and I love this dish, it was not surprising that it was a favorite of my friends as well. All the qualities I love about nam tok are found here, but that crispy and luscious pork belly just takes the entire thing to a whole new level. The strong acidity helps balance out the immense amount of fat, and it becomes a little scary how easy it is to consume a large amount of pork belly in one sitting. The introduction of smoke was an interesting and welcome aspect. I worried it might be a little too strong when sampling the pork on its own, but when combined into the salad, the smokiness was hitting just right, adding another layer of complexity that melded together with the other strong and disperse flavors. Now if I die from arteries clogged from fat due to eating too much of this pork belly nam tok, you can write on my tombstone, "Totally worth it."

Published on Thu Apr 18, 2024 by Joshua Bousel

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