The three layers that give moo sam chan (three-layer pork, or pork belly) its name are the skin, the fat and the meat. They make up the largest cut of pork and the one used in the most recipes. But what are these recipes, and what do they taste like?
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The first form of pork belly that I'd like to discuss is moo krawp (crispy pork). Pieces of it can be seen hanging in many kinds of restaurants, khao moo daeng (Chinese red pork over rice) restaurants, khao tom (rice soup) restaurants and informal places that prepare food to order. It usually presents itself as large slabs of pork with crunchy skin that has swollen and become flaky during cooking. The layer of fat is shiny and the meat is dark red. If the pork fits this description it has been made by someone who really know the art of cooking crispy pork, and the sight of it will have anyone who appreciates this delicacy drooling.
Actually, it is very easy to make. Most Chinese households cook it for themselves. At Chinese New Year, offerings have to be prepared, and these include boiled chickens and ducks, steamed fish and pork belly boiled with a little salt. After the Chinese New Year festival is over the leftover pork is cut into pieces and boiled with peanuts for upcoming meals.
But the best way to make moo krawp is to stab the skin of the pork with a fork until it is full of holes, then rub it with salt and deep-fry it. In the frying, the pork skin will fluff up and become flaky, and when it turns golden brown it will be ready to serve as first-class crispy pork. This is the standard way of making it used by most cooks.
juicy: 'Moo krawp', or crispy pork. Above left, 'moo hong', a Phuket favourite.
Besides the rice there are four things that make up a serving of khao moo daeng, crispy pork: Chinese red pork, the sweet Chinese sausages called kunchieng and sauce. Just about every neighbourhood will have a khao moo daeng restaurant, but these will all be big places with skilful kitchen staff who make their own crispy pork. Besides these khao moo daeng restaurants there are restaurants that sell khao tom (rice soup) and fast food restaurants that cook standard dishes to order, and they will also need crispy pork for their customers. They buy the meat from factories that make it especially for restaurants.
Forty years ago, the crispy pork factories were located in Nakhon Pathom, where the biggest pig farms and abattoirs operated. About midnight, the slaughtered pigs were taken from the abattoirs to the crispy pork factories, where they were cut in half and the head and legs were removed. The sides of pork were rubbed with salt and then roasted.
The roasting was done in large, tall ovens made of thick concrete. Each of them would have a narrow opening on top like the one at the mouth of a ceramic jar, and the whole oven would be about 2m tall. There was an opening for putting in charcoal at the bottom and there was a place up above where workers could stand as they rubbed the meat with salt, attached four sides (two pigs) to a chain using metal hoops, and lowered them into the oven to roast for three hours. Then they would be lifted out and their skin punctured with a sharp tool until it was full of holes before being lowered back into the oven until the skin attained the proper crunchy texture. About 5am it would be sent to markets where it would be cut into pieces as customers requested.
The crispy pork in those days looked a lot more appetising than today's because the pigs it was made from were big, with thick skin and layers of fat. When they had been prepared as crispy pork the fatty part looked white, juicy and delicious, but terrifying to weight watchers. Nowadays the pigs are smaller and the fat layer thinner, perhaps more in line with today's tastes.
These days there are many different producers of crispy pork and a variety of ways of making it. The large factories are reluctant to reveal their locations and preparation methods, and consider them to be company secrets. But most of them boil the meat first, then roast it and finally fry it, turning the back part of the pig down so that it fluffs up properly.
Crispy pork is not eaten only as an ingredients in khao moo daeng. It can be cut into pieces and served with a spicy dipping sauce of nam pla and chilli and then eaten with rice. It can also be stir-fried with pak khana (Chinese broccoli) or with fresh chillies and basil. These dishes are popular at roadside food stalls.
Pork belly is also an important ingredient in moo palo (pork simmered in broth with aromatic Chinese five-spice). The version of this dish familiar to most people takes the form of pieces of pork cooked to extreme tenderness and soaked in the fragrant palo sauce. Moo palo is one of those dishes that get better the longer it is simmered. If it is not completely finished the first time it is served, it gets more delicious every time it is reheated.
There is a popular dish made by simmering a very thin slice of pork belly with Chinese medicinal herbs and serving it on a bed of pickled cabbage that has been cooked until very soft, or sometimes on pieces of steamed taro root. The Thai name for this dish is khao yoke, and many shops use it as a magnet to draw in customers. It isn't made only in Thailand; it is served in Chinese restaurants worldwide. Thais travelling in China who don't eat a plate of moo sam chan and pickled cabbage there will feel that they haven't really experienced the country.
There are a pair of recipes for pork belly that are very similar and may either be variants of the same dish, or perhaps their resemblance to each other is a coincidence. One is kaeng hanglay, a dish associated with the Thai Yai ethnic group that is very popular in Mae Hong Son province, and the other is moo hong, a local favourite in Phuket.
Mae Hong Son-style kaeng hanglay can be made using either pork meat or bones, but in its original form it was made by simmering pork belly with the seasonings used for the curry called kaeng hanglay, which included fresh and pickled garlic, fine strands of shredded ginger and peanuts. It is seasoned with the pickling liquid from the pickled garlic, soya sauce, sour tamarind water and palm sugar. When the pork is fully cooked there will only be a little of the broth left, klook-klik, in Thai cooking terms.
As for the moo hong eaten in Phuket, the pork belly is cut into pieces and stir-fried with finely-chopped garlic and onions, fine strands of fresh ginger, the salty fermented soya bean sauce called tao jio and a large quantity of palm sugar. These ingredients are simmered together for at least three hours. If, after that time, the pork is not tender enough to be cut with a fork, more water is added and it is simmered a while longer. When the meat is finally fully cooked, the broth will have cooked away almost completely — klook-klik. Both of these dishes, one northern and the other southern, are absolutely delicious.
These are a few of the dishes that can be made with pork belly. There are others, just as delicious, so it is no mistake to say that this fatty cut is one of the tastiest and most versatile among the succulent array that the pork butcher provide for us.
