Sun-Dried Pork (Moo Daet Diew)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy granite mortar and pestle (krok hin) for pounding the marinade paste
• •Wire rack and sheet pan for drying
• •Wok or deep heavy pot for frying
• •Spider strainer or slotted spoon
• •Thermometer for oil temperature (recommended)

Instructions

1. 1

   Pound the marinade paste

   In a granite mortar (krok hin), pound the white peppercorns first until cracked and fragrant. Add the garlic cloves and cilantro roots. Pound to a rough paste. Not baby food, not whole pieces. You want a coarse, wet paste where everything is broken down enough to release its oils but still has texture. The smell should hit you immediately: sharp garlic, earthy cilantro root, the clean bite of white pepper. This is the Isan grill paste. Simpler than a kreung tam but just as principled. Four ingredients. Pound them right.

   Cilantro root is not cilantro stem. The root is thicker, more pungent, and earthier. It's one of the nine essential ingredients Ajarn identifies. If your supermarket only sells cilantro without roots, find an Asian grocery. This is non-negotiable for the marinade.
2. 2

   Marinate the pork

   Use pork collar or shoulder (kor moo), the cut with good marbling and fat running through it. Slice it into strips about 1cm thick and 5cm long. Don't go thinner or they'll dry out completely. Don't go thicker or the marinade won't penetrate. Transfer the pounded paste into a bowl. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Toss the pork strips in the marinade until every piece is coated. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours. Overnight is better. The fish sauce does double duty here: it seasons the meat and it draws moisture to the surface through osmosis, which kickstarts the drying process before the pork even hits the sun.

   Kor moo (pork collar) is the ideal cut. It has intramuscular fat that keeps the strips juicy even after drying. Lean cuts like tenderloin will turn into cardboard. Fat is your friend here.
3. 3

   Dry the pork

   Remove the pork from the marinade and shake off any excess paste. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over both sides, pressing them gently into the surface. Lay the strips in a single layer on a wire rack set over a sheet pan. If you have Thai sun, set the rack outside in direct sunlight for 4 to 6 hours, turning the strips once halfway through. You're looking for a dry, slightly tacky surface that has darkened in color but still gives when you press it. The strips should feel leathery, not brittle. If you don't have Isan sunlight, set your oven to its lowest temperature (70 to 80°C, about 150 to 170°F) with the door cracked open, and dry for 2 to 3 hours. A dehydrator set to 70°C works too. The goal is the same regardless of method: dry surface, tender interior.

   The name says 'one sun' for a reason. You're not making jerky. Over-drying kills the texture. The pork should still be pliable when you bend a strip. If it snaps, it went too far. Pull it earlier next time.
4. 4

   Deep-fry until shattering

   Fill a wok or deep pot with vegetable oil, at least 5cm deep. Heat to 170°C (340°F). Fry the pork strips in batches. Don't crowd the wok. Each strip needs space or the oil temperature drops and you get greasy, soft pork instead of shattering, golden pork. Fry each batch for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the surface is deep golden brown and the edges are crispy. The sesame seeds will toast in the oil and turn nutty. When you lift a strip out, it should feel light and rigid. Tap it against the edge of the wok. You should hear a hollow, crisp sound. That's the dried surface doing exactly what the science says it should: shattering because there was no moisture left to steam. Drain on a wire rack, not paper towels. Paper towels trap steam underneath and soften the crust.

   Temperature control is critical. Too hot and the outside burns before the inside heats through. Too cool and the pork absorbs oil like a sponge. 170°C is the sweet spot. Use a thermometer if you have one. If you don't, drop a sesame seed into the oil. It should sizzle immediately and float, not sink and sit.
5. 5

   Make the jaew and serve

   While the pork fries, make the jaew. Combine the fish sauce, lime juice, dried chili flakes, toasted rice powder, sliced shallot, cilantro, and green onion in a small bowl. Stir once. Taste. Sour should lead, salty second, with a slow chili burn building at the back. The toasted rice powder (khao khua) gives it body and that distinctive Isan nuttiness. Pile the fried pork strips on a plate. Serve the jaew alongside for dipping. Sticky rice (khao niew) is the only accompaniment. Not jasmine rice. Not regular rice. Sticky rice. You tear off a pinch, press a strip of pork onto it, dip into the jaew, and eat with your hands. That's the design. That's how it's been eaten on every Isan highway since before you were born.

Chef Tips

• •The pork cut matters more than people think. Kor moo (pork collar/neck) has streaks of fat running through the muscle that keep the meat juicy even after hours of drying. Lean pork loin or tenderloin will dry out and turn tough. The fat renders slightly during frying and bastes the meat from the inside. That's why rest stop vendors always use collar. They've figured out the cut through decades of trial.
• •Sesame seeds aren't a garnish. They're structural. Pressed into the surface before drying, they toast during frying and create a nutty, crunchy coating that adds another texture layer to the shattering exterior. White sesame seeds (nga khao) are traditional. Black sesame works too but changes the visual.
• •If you're drying in an oven, prop the door open with a wooden spoon. You need airflow. Drying is about moisture leaving the meat, and if the oven is sealed, that moisture has nowhere to go. It just condenses and sits on the surface. Airflow is what the Thai sun provides naturally: dry heat plus wind.
• •Moo daet diew keeps well. Once fried, cool the strips completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, or refrigerate for a week. Re-fry or pop them in a hot oven for 5 minutes to restore the crunch. The dried strips before frying can be frozen for up to a month. Fry straight from frozen, adding an extra minute to the frying time.

Advance Preparation

• •The marinade paste can be pounded and the pork can be marinating in the refrigerator overnight. This is actually the ideal timeline: pound the paste in the evening, marinate overnight, dry the next morning, fry by afternoon.
• •Dried pork strips (before frying) can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or frozen for a month. This makes moo daet diew ideal for batch preparation. Dry a large batch on a sunny day, freeze in portions, and fry to order.
• •Jaew should be made fresh each time. The lime juice and herbs lose brightness within an hour. Takes two minutes to throw together. No excuse to make it ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 130g)