Moo Pad Gratiem Prik Thai (Three Buddy Pork)

Ingredients

• 1kg pork belly, cubed (moo)
• 10 cloves garlic (gratiem)
• 1 tbs white peppercorns (prik thai)
• 5 coriander roots (1 bunch stems)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 2 tbs seasoning soy sauce
• 1 tbs water
• 1 tbs oyster sauce (optional)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbs Gogi or crispy flour
• 2 tbs ice water
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. Remove the skin from the pork belly, cut into medium strips, then into medium cubes
2. Add the peppercorns, salt, cilantro, and garlic to a mortar and pestle and crush until consistent. If you have a spice grinder, that is ideal for this task.
3. Add the spice mixture to the pork belly, add the soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and water, and mix until well combined. Hands are best for this. Add 2 tbs of Gogi or crispy flour to a mixing bowl and add ice water is small amounts, mixing well to make sure there are no lumps. Mix the rest of the water in until the mixture is smooth and a little thin.
4. Add the flour mixture to the pork mixture and mix until well combined - again, hands are best. Cover and let sit for at least 30-60 minutes at room temperature.
5. Heat the oil in a wok over medium high heat until the temperature reaches ~275-300 degrees. There should be enough oil to cover the pork. Shallow frying also works, but the heat from the pan tends to make the pork a little drier.
6. Toss 1 tbs Gogi or crispy flour into the oil before frying - this will cause the oil to splatter less. Add the pork in batches, allowing each batch to fry for 3-4 minutes before turning the batch and separating the pieces. It will take 8-11 minutes to fry a batch, depending on how you prefer the pork. If you prefer softer pork pieces, start checking around 7-8 minutes.
7. Remove the pork to a wire rack and allow to cool slightly

Chef's Notes

• The combination of white pepper, garlic, and cilantro stems is very common in Thai cuisine - they are the three buddies (sam gle)