Thai Grilled Pork with Tamarind-Chili Dipping Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Pork tenderloin soaks overnight in coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, garlic and white pepper until it's seasoned to the center and impossibly juicy. Grilled hot and fast so the coconut sugars char at the edges, then dunked in a sticky-sour tamarind chili sauce. It's the street-cart appetizer that disappears before it hits the table.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed of silverskin
• 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (shake can well)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar, packed
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 cilantro stems or roots, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate or thick tamarind paste
• 3 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp Thai chili flakes (prik bon) or crushed red pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 tbsp toasted rice powder (khao khua), optional

• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced
• Sticky rice or jasmine rice, for serving
• 10 bamboo skewers (if skewering)

Instructions

1. Slice the pork tenderloin crosswise on a slight bias into 1/2-inch-thick medallions, then gently press each one to about 1/3 inch thick with the heel of your hand. Thin, even pieces are what let this cook fast without drying out.
2. Make the marinade: in a blender or mini food processor, blitz the coconut milk, fish sauce, 3 tbsp palm sugar, chopped garlic, cilantro stems, white pepper, oyster sauce, vegetable oil and salt until smooth, about 30 seconds. (No blender? Mash the garlic and cilantro stems to a paste with the salt in a mortar, then whisk in everything else.)
3. Combine the pork and marinade in a zip-top bag or bowl, press out the air, and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 24. The overnight soak is the whole point — the coconut milk tenderizes while the fish sauce seasons all the way through.
4. Make the dipping sauce: in a small saucepan, combine the tamarind concentrate, 3 tbsp palm sugar, 2 tbsp fish sauce and the water. Simmer over medium heat, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar dissolves and the sauce coats a spoon lightly. Cool to room temperature, then stir in the lime juice, chili flakes, minced garlic, shallot and toasted rice powder. Taste — it should hit sour, sweet, salty and hot in that order. Adjust with more lime or sugar.
5. If using skewers, soak bamboo skewers in water for 20 minutes, then thread 3 to 4 pork medallions onto each, weaving through the meat so it lies flat. Otherwise cook the medallions loose.
6. Heat a charcoal or gas grill to high, 450–500°F, and scrape the grates clean. Lift the pork from the marinade and let the excess drip off — a thin coating chars nicely, a thick one burns.
7. Grill the pork directly over the fire for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until deeply lacquered with dark char spots at the edges and just firm to the touch (internal temperature 145°F). Move any pieces that flare up to a cooler part of the grill. Work in batches rather than crowding.
8. Transfer to a platter and rest 5 minutes. Scatter with cilantro leaves and serve warm with the tamarind-chili sauce, lime wedges, cucumber slices and sticky rice.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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