Pork and rice (bai sach chrouk)

This well-loved Cambodian breakfast dish is found at roadside vendors in the early hours of the morning. Pork is marinated with garlic, and sometimes coconut milk, and then slowly grilled on a wire rack set over burning charcoal.

Credit: Brett Stevens

• serves

  6

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 600 g pork neck, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• toasted shredded coconut, chicken broth (optional) and steamed rice, to serve

Garlic and coconut marinade

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 65 g (¼ cup) grated palm sugar
• 250 ml (1 cup) coconut milk
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 lime, juiced

Pickled vegetables

• 110 g (½ cup) caster sugar
• 185 ml (¾ cup) rice vinegar
• 2 red bird’s-eye chillies, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, thinly shredded
• 1 cucumber, thinly shredded
• ½ daikon (see Note), thinly shredded
• 10 cm-piece ginger, thinly shredded 

Chilling time overnight

Instructions

To make marinade, place ingredients in a large non-reactive bowl and stir to combine and dissolve sugar. Add pork, turning to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Meanwhile, to make pickled vegetables, place sugar and 250 ml (1 cup) water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat, cool completely, then stir in vinegar, chillies, vegetables and ginger. Place in a sterilised jar (see Note) and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Leftover pickles will keep refrigerated for up to 6 weeks.

Heat a barbecue or chargrill pan to medium-high. Remove pork from marinade, discarding excess marinade. Season pork with salt and brush with oil. Cook, turning halfway, for 8 minutes or until caramelised and cooked through.

Scatter over coconut and serve immediately with pickled vegetables, chicken broth, if desired, and rice.

Notes
• Daikon is a large white radish from select greengrocers and Asian food shops.

• It is essential to sterilise jars before filling them to prevent bacteria from forming. You can reuse any glass jar as long as the lid seals well. To sterilise jars, bottles and metal spoons in the oven, preheat oven to 120°C. Wash items in soapy water, rinse, then dry. Place equipoment (inclduing non-plastic lids) on an oven tray and place in oven for 20 minutes. Remove and fill jars while still hot. To sterilise jars, bottles, containers and metal spoons in the dishwasher, wash on the hottest cycle. Dry, then fill jars, bottles and containers while still hot.

Photography Brett Stevens. Food preparation Leanne Kitchen and Phoebe Wood. Styling Vivien Walsh.

As seen in Feast magazine, November 2014, Issue 37.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.