How to cook Thai-style grilled pork neck in the oven, best served with nam jim jaew dipping sauce
- Usually cooked on a barbecue, this recipe is less smoky but still delicious and easy to perfect at home
- Keep coriander fresh by buying it with the roots attached, plus make your own roasted sticky rice powder
One of the most popular dishes at Thai restaurants is grilled pork neck. It tastes best when grilled over coals for a smoky flavour, but it is delicious even when cooked in the oven, using the grill or broiler setting.
Thai grilled pork neck with nam jim jaew dipping sauce
Fresh coriander usually comes with the roots attached to keep the herb fresh for longer. Most people use only the coriander leaves, and discard the sturdy roots and lower stems. These parts aren’t pretty but they have a lot of flavour, and are often used in Southeast Asian cuisines. If your coriander comes without the roots, substitute the thick parts of the stems.
Roasted sticky rice powder – often called roasted (or toasted) glutinous rice powder – is sold in specialist Thai shops. If you can’t find it, make your own: put 50 grams of raw sticky (glutinous) rice in an unoiled skillet placed over a medium flame and shake until the grains are lightly toasted and fragrant.
Grind to a rough powder in a food processor or blender; it should have a slightly grainy texture – do not grind into flour. Store in an airtight container.
For the pork neck:
3 pieces of pork neck, about 700 grams in total
2-3 large garlic cloves, peeled
10 grams fresh coriander roots (with about 2.5cm of the lower stems)
½ tsp finely ground white pepper
30 grams palm sugar (or use granulated sugar)
70ml light soy sauce
35ml fish sauce
35 grams oyster sauce
10ml sesame oil
For the nam jim jaew:
40ml palm sugar (or use granulated sugar)
60ml fish sauce
60ml fresh lime juice
1 tbsp roasted sticky rice powder
1 tbsp Thai dried chilli flakes
3 large shallots, peeled
1-2 spring onions
2-4 sprigs fresh coriander
1 Make the pork neck marinade. Roughly chop the garlic cloves and coriander roots, then put them in a mortar, add the pepper and sugar and pound to a rough paste. Mix in the soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil.
2 Dry the pork neck with paper towels, then place in a shallow dish. Pour the marinade over the meat and mix so the pieces are coated evenly. Marinate at room temperature for up to three hours, or in the fridge for longer. Occasionally mix the ingredients so the pork marinates evenly.
3 Make the nam jim jaew. Put the sugar into a bowl and add the fish sauce and lime juice. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then mix in the rice powder and chilli flakes.
4 Halve the shallots. Thinly slice the shallot halves and spring onion, and roughly chop the fresh coriander. Add the shallots, spring onion and coriander to the fish sauce and sugar mixture and stir well. Taste for seasonings and adjust, if necessary.
5 If the marinated pork neck was refrigerated, take it from the fridge one hour before cooking.
6 Preheat the oven grill to high. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil, then place a lightly oiled rack on top. Place the pork neck pieces on the rack and slide the tray into the oven, so the meat is about 8cm below the heating element. Grill for about 10 minutes, or until the pork neck is cooked through and charred in spots.
Turn the meat over halfway through. If the meat is charring too quickly, move the tray further from the heat – or move it closer if it is cooked, but not browned.
7 When the meat is cooked, remove the tray from the oven and rest at room temperature for about five minutes. Cut the meat against the grain into slices about 5mm thick.
8 Place the slices onto a serving dish. Pour the nam jim jaew into a bowl and serve with the pork neck, steamed sticky rice and/or lettuce leaves and fresh herbs.
