• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Craving Tasty

  • Entrées
    • Beef Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Sausage Recipes
    • Fish & Seafood Recipes
    • Lamb Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Pork Recipes
    • Turkey Recipes
  • Soups & Salads
    • Soup Recipes
    • Chili Recipes
    • Salad Recipes
  • Sides & Vegetables
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetable Dishes
  • Party Food & Appetizers
    • Appetizers
    • Dips
    • Mixed Drinks
  • Extras
    • How To
    • Recipe Roundups
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Entrées
  • Sides & Vegetables
  • Soups & Salads
  • Party Food & Appetizers
  • Extras
×

Home » Entrées » Pork Recipes » Thai Pork (Kao Moo Dang)

Thai Pork (Kao Moo Dang)

March 22, 2018 by victor 4 Comments

Thai BBQ pork on rice with boiled eggs and cucumbers on a white plate, with sauce poured over.

Not too long ago while dining out at a local Thai restaurant I tried a dish called Kao Moo Dang, or simply Thai Pork. I was so impressed with the amazing taste and the presentation of this Thai pork dish that I immediately got hooked. The pork was lean yet very tender. The sauce was savory, with a little bit of sweetness, and wonderfully complemented the pork without overpowering it. Slices of cucumbers and a hard boiled egg completed the dish. Everything worked so well together.

Whenever I try a dish that I love I always try to replicate it at home. This time is no exception. After reading about the dish and playing with a few recipes I think I came up with what I was looking for. It’s not the same, but it’s very, very close. If you ask me, my version is even better. I love this pork recipe.

Top down view of Thai BBQ pork on rice with boiled eggs and cucumbers on a white plate, with sauce poured over.

This recipe requires both dark and light soy sauce. In case you haven’t used them, soy sauce from your local grocery store is neither. It’s somewhere in between. It’s not a good choice to use for making Thai pork. For this recipe you need dark and light soy sauce.

Shizuo Tsuji’s  in his book Japanese Cooking explains: “Light soy sauce is amber in color, is clearer and thinner… but it is also saltier…. Dark soy sauce has a deeper color and more body. It’s less salty and used in relatively greater quantities.” The same holds true for the Chinese dark and light soy sauce.

Soy sauce for Thai Pork Recipe

To make Thai pork you can use many different cuts of pork, but my pick is tenderloin. It’s lean and therefore healthier than other pork cuts. When properly cooked it’s melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Thai Pork - Fried on cast iron pan | ifoodblogger.com

The pork in this recipe can be cooked entirely on a cast iron pan. Still, the meat is so flavorful and so tender that you will hardly miss that smoky BBQ flavor. I could not resist cooking the tenderloin on a charcoal grill and see how it turns out. I did, and it was fabulous. Tender, flavorful and smoky, with caramelized surface. If you can, definitely grill the meat. I’ve seen Thai Pork also being called Thai BBQ pork. I suppose the difference is in the preparation method, if you grill the meat the dish becomes Thai BBQ pork. I believe in Thai both are called the same name though – Kao Moo Dang.

Thai Pork on a Grill | ifoodblogger.com

Thai Pork (Kao Moo Dang) Recipe

4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories:
Author: Victor

Ingredients

  • 2 pork tenderloins (about 2 lbs total, cut in half)
  • 6 cups cooked jasmine rice (2 cups uncooked)

For the pork marinade

  • 2 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine / rice wine
  • 2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
  • 3 Tbsp tomato sauce (or ketchup)

For making the sauce

  • 1 Tbsp tapioca starch
  • 1 cup of water

For garnish

  • 2 eggs (boiled, peeled and cut in half lengthwise)
  • Coriander leaves
  • Cucumber and scallions sliced

Instructions

  • In a Ziploc bag, combine the Chinese cooking wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt, soy sauce and tomato sauce. Add pork tenderloin and marinate in a fridge for at least two hours and up to 6 hours for best results.
  • Heat a wok or a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add the pork and the marinade, and cook and bring to gentle boil. Cover and simmer, occasionally stirring, for about 5-7 minute. Flip the meat and continue simmering for another 5-7 minutes, until internal temperature of the meat reaches a minimum safe temperature of 145F. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside.
  • To make the sauce, dissolve tapioca starch in 1 cup of water and add to the pan with the marinade leftovers after meat simmering. Bring to boil and simmer until the sauce thickens.
  • To serve, slice the pork about 1/4 inch thick, place on top of rice bed and dress with the sauce. Garnish with slices of cucumber, scallions and fresh coriander leaves.

 

Previous Post
Next Post

Subscribe to Craving Tasty

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




     

  1. Mr Frazer A Hainsworth

    July 17, 2021 at 6:45 am

    I followed the recipe but changed it a bit,
    I added a little Chinese 5 spice and honey instead of sugar in the marinade and sauce and used potato starch to thicken the sauce

    Reply
  2. Zachary

    February 07, 2021 at 11:36 pm

    Just for some clarification, Khao means rice in Thai, and the meat is just Moo (pork) Daeng (Red). Khao Moo Daeng is one of the many options for eating Moo Daeng, but it can also be added to soups, eggs, or many other things as well. In Chiang Mai, clear broth noodle soups seems to be the most common appearance, and then Khao Moo Daeng.

    Reply
  3. L

    January 16, 2018 at 11:51 am

    I made this last night. It was so yummy (and pretty)!

    Thai BBQ Pork

    Reply
    • victor

      January 16, 2018 at 2:47 pm

      Glad to hear it. Lovely picture. I grabbed it from the link and posted it in your comment, hope that’s OK.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I am Victor and welcome to my blog dedicated to simple and delicious everyday food... Read more...
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Categories

  • Entrées (130)
    • Beef Recipes (26)
    • Chicken Recipes (66)
    • Fish & Seafood Recipes (12)
    • Pasta Recipes (2)
    • Pork Recipes (19)
    • Sausage Recipes (2)
    • Turkey Recipes (5)
  • Extras (18)
    • How To (16)
    • Recipe Roundups (1)
    • Rubs and Seasonings (1)
  • Party Food & Appetizers (10)
    • Appetizers (5)
    • Mixed Drinks (5)
  • Sides & Vegetables (25)
    • Side Dishes (14)
    • Vegetable Dishes (11)
  • Soups & Salads (29)
    • Chili Recipes (1)
    • Salad Dressing Recipes (1)
    • Salad Recipes (17)
    • Soup Recipes (10)

Copyright © 2023 · Craving Tasty · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Disclosures