Olive Pork: In Thailand, In Chaozhou (泰式/潮汕乌榄炒肉碎)

A look at how Chinese food changed as the diaspore moved into Southeast Asia.

Note: the is more we have to say on this topic, so we may revisit this recipe in the future with a full Substack post.

Chaozhou Version

Ingredients:

• Boston butt (梅肉), 300g

• Dried Chinese black olive (榄角/乌榄), 35g

• Red mild chili (红辣椒), 25g

• Chinese celery (香芹), 30g

• Ginger (姜), 5g

• Marinade:

  Soy sauce (酱油), 1 tsp

  Liaojiu, aka Shaoxing wine (料酒), 1 tsp

  Cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp

• Final seasoning mixture:

  Chicken bouillon powder (鸡精), 1/4 tsp

  Sugar, 1/4 tsp

  Salt, 1/8 tsp

  MSG (味精), 1/8 tsp

  White pepper powder (白胡椒粉), 1/8 tsp

  Water, 1/4 cup

Hand mince the pork, then mix with the marinade. Soak the Chinese olive with hot water for 10 minutes.

Mince the Chinese olive, the ginger, the chili, and the celery.

Swirld ~3 tbsp of oil into a hot wok, and over a high flame add in the ginger and the chili. Fry until fragrant, then add in pork and break it up a bit. Fry until the color changes and the pork looks cooked.

Add in the olive, quick mix, then add in the seasoning mixture. Fry until all the water is absorbed.

Add in the celery, mix and out.

Bangkok Version

Ingredients:

• Boston Butt (หมูสันคอ/梅肉), 500g

• Tinned Chinese olives (หนำเลียบ/乌榄), ~16 olives.

• Optional accompaniments:

  Thai Bird’s Eye chili (พริกขี้หนู/小米辣). Sliced.

  Shallot (หอมแดง/干葱). Sliced.

  Lime. A small dice.

• Chinese celery (ขึ้นฉ่าย/香芹). Minced.

• Cashews, 50g

• Garlic or Thai Garlic, 100g. For the topping, 50g; as an aromatic; 50g

• Cilantro root (รากผักชี), 6.

• Seasoning:

  Dark Thai soy sauce (ซีอิ๊วดำ), 1 tbsp -or- 2 tsp molassas mixed with 1 tsp soy sauce

  Oyster sauce (น้ำมันหอย/蚝油), 1 tbsp

  Sugar, ½ tbsp

  White pepper, 1 tsp

  MSG (ผงชูรส/味精), ½ tsp

• Liaojiu a.k.a. Shaoxing wine (เหล้าจีน/绍酒), 1 tbsp

Cut the pork into a dice, then hand mince for ~5 minutes until a rough paste. Rinse, smush, and mince the Chinese olives. Incorporate with the pork, then mince together for ~3 minutes until pasty.

Prepare the optional accompaniments. For the cashews, fry for 6-7 minutes over a medium low flame until golden. Reserve the oil.

Crush and mince the garlic. Reserve half. Take the other half and fry in the same oil as the cashews – medium flame, five minutes until barely golden. Heat off, fry for one more minute. Strain, reserve the oil.

Pound the cilantro root.

Add ~3 tbsp of the reserved oil to a wok and fry the reserved garlic over a medium-low flame until they begin to change color, ~2 minutes. Add the cilantro root, fry until fragrant. Up the flame to medium high, add the pork mixture, fry for ~10 minutes – periodically spreading the mince out to brown, and then mixing together. Once it’s just beginning to release a touch of oil, add the seasoning. Up the flame to high, swirl in the Shaoxing wine.

Serve with the accompaniments, alongside either white rice or plain congee.