Short pork and rice sausages fermented until sour, then grilled and eaten with raw cabbage, ginger and chilli. They are soured by fermenting cooked rice along with the pork, and sold from roadside grills across the north-east.
It is raw pork soured at ambient temperature inside a casing, where safety depends entirely on the acidity arriving fast enough — and there is no way to see from the outside whether it did.
What goes into it
- minced pork, with fat
- cooked rice
- garlic, in quantity
- salt
- narrow casings
How it is made
Minced pork, cooked rice, garlic and salt are mixed and stuffed into narrow casings, then hung or left in the warm for two to three days. Lactic bacteria feed on the rice starch and drop the pH sharply, souring the meat — the acidity is the preservation, not drying. They are grilled before eating.
How long it takes: two to three days of souring in the warm
How it is eaten
Grilled over charcoal until the skin blisters, with raw cabbage, ginger, bird’s eye chilli and peanuts.
History
North-eastern sausage soured by fermenting cooked rice with the pork; sold from roadside grills with fresh ginger, chilli and cabbage.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sai Krok Isan?
Sai Krok Isan is a charcuterie & cured from Thailand: short pork and rice sausages fermented until sour, grilled and eaten with raw cabbage. North-eastern sausage soured by fermenting cooked rice with the pork; sold from roadside grills with fresh ginger, chilli and cabbage.
How is Sai Krok Isan made?
Minced pork, cooked rice, garlic and salt are mixed and stuffed into narrow casings, then hung or left in the warm for two to three days. Lactic bacteria feed on the rice starch and drop the pH sharply, souring the meat — the acidity is the preservation, not drying. They are grilled before eating. It takes two to three days of souring in the warm.
Can I make Sai Krok Isan at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. It is raw pork soured at ambient temperature inside a casing, where safety depends entirely on the acidity arriving fast enough — and there is no way to see from the outside whether it did.
What goes into Sai Krok Isan?
Minced pork, with fat, cooked rice, garlic, in quantity, salt, narrow casings.
How is Sai Krok Isan eaten?
Grilled over charcoal until the skin blisters, with raw cabbage, ginger, bird’s eye chilli and peanuts.
