Moo Ping — Grilled Pork Skewers / หมูปิ้ง

Ingredients

• For the pork
• 600 g pork belly and shoulder, combined, sliced 3–4 mm thin, alternating lean and fatty sections on each skewer
• For the marinade
• 200 ml coconut milk, full-fat; reserve a small quantity for final basting
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp palm sugar, grated or shaved
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
• 3 roots coriander root, scraped and finely pounded
• 1 tsp white pepper, freshly ground
• To serve
• 400 g sticky rice, steamed
• 60 ml fish sauce, plain, as condiment
• Equipment
• 12 bamboo skewers, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes before use

Method

1. 1
   Combine the coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic paste, pounded coriander root, and white pepper in a bowl. Stir until the palm sugar has fully dissolved — the marinade should be uniformly smooth with no granular residue visible.
2. 2
   Slice the pork belly and shoulder to 3–4 mm thickness. Thread onto soaked bamboo skewers, alternating lean and fatty sections along each skewer so that every bite will carry both. Submerge the threaded skewers in the marinade, cover, and refrigerate overnight — 2 hours is the minimum. The pork should be deeply coated and carry no dry surface.
3. 3
   Prepare a charcoal grill to medium heat. This is where the dish lives or dies: the palm sugar and coconut milk in the marinade will burn before the pork is cooked if the heat is too high. Hold your palm 10 cm above the grate — you should be able to sustain it for 4–5 seconds. Lay the skewers over the coals and turn constantly, never leaving them still for more than 30 seconds at a time. The correct result is deep caramelisation with slight charring at the edges — not blackening, not pallor.
4. 4
   In the final 2 minutes of grilling, baste each skewer with the reserved coconut milk using a brush or folded banana leaf. The surface will take on a glossy, lacquered finish and fresh coconut fragrance will rise from the grate — this is the signal that basting is complete.
5. 5
   Remove the skewers from the heat. The pork should be cooked through, yielding no resistance when pressed lightly, with alternating caramelised and slightly charred sections across the surface. Serve immediately alongside steamed sticky rice and plain fish sauce as condiment.