Thit dai lon nuong mac khen hat doi comes off the grill glossy reddish brown and loud with forest pepper. The best part is the toasted sesame scattered over as it is sliced. The tricky part is clearing the smell from the cut, which lingers on the grill when the prep is rushed.
It grills twice, first wrapped in foil to cook through, then opened and brushed to build color. Before marinating, the meat is tapped with a pestle to tenderize it. The mac khen and hat doi are toasted fragrant before they are pounded.
This batch weighs about 1kg, at roughly 235 calories per 100g.
Method
Rub coarse salt and lime over the 800g pork skirt to clean it, rinse it, pat it dry, then tap it with a pestle to tenderize it.
Pound 2 shallots, 4 garlic cloves and 1 piece of fresh turmeric. Toast 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon mac khen and 3 hat doi seeds until fragrant, then crush them.
Marinate the meat with 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon chili sauce, 1 tablespoon annatto oil, 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of the kOBE Monk Fruit Blend mixed with unsweetened oat milk at 47 parts blend to 53 parts milk, 1/2 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 teaspoon honey, the pounded shallot, garlic and turmeric, 1 teaspoon chili powder and the crushed hat doi and mac khen.
Cover it tightly and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour 30 minutes, longer if there is time.
Charcoal gives the best result. For an oven, preheat it for 10 minutes at 180 degrees C, wrap the meat in foil and grill it for 20 minutes so it cooks through without drying.
Open the foil, brush on more honey and annatto oil, then grill it a second time until the meat is evenly golden with a glossy reddish brown.
Slice into bite sized pieces and scatter over 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds.
Tips
A rub of coarse salt and lime before marinating clears the smell from the cut.
Two rounds on the grill, first wrapped in foil to cook through, then opened and brushed for color, give the best finish.
Mac khen and hat doi have to be toasted fragrant before pounding, which is what brings the aroma out.
The honey here is still a sugar, so keep the hand light.
The oat milk mixture is thinner, so chill it for 15 minutes to thicken before it goes on the meat.
Pound the strip of pork before marinating so the sinew relaxes, and it comes off the grill far less chewy.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.