Ingredients
Curry paste
- 10dried red chillies, soaked
- 3 stalkslemongrass, sliced thin
- 4cm galangal, chopped
- 1 tbspturmeric, fresh or ground
- 10kaffir lime leaves, sliced hair-thin
- 8 clovesgarlic
- 4shallots
- 1 tbspshrimp paste
- 2 tspsalt
Sausage
- 800 gpork shoulder, minced coarse
- 200 gpork back fat, chopped small
- 2 tbspfish sauce
- 1 bunchcoriander, chopped
- 2spring onions, chopped
- natural hog casing, about 2 m
Directions
- Pound the soaked chillies with the salt in a mortar, then work in the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic and shallots one at a time until you have a coarse paste. Add the shrimp paste last.
- Pound rather than blend if you can. A blender shears the lemongrass into fibres that stay stringy in the sausage; pounding breaks the cells and releases the oil.
- Slice the kaffir lime leaves as finely as you possibly can — roll them and shave them — and fold them through the paste. Anything coarser is unpleasant to chew.
- Mix the paste into the minced pork and chopped fat with the fish sauce, using your hands, then fold in the coriander and spring onion.
- Fry a teaspoon of the mixture and taste it. Adjust the salt and chilli now; there is no fixing it once it is in the casing.
- Fill the casing loosely and coil it into a flat spiral, pinning it with two skewers crossed through it so it holds together.
- Loose filling matters. Sai ua is not a bound emulsion sausage, and a tightly stuffed casing splits over the coals.
- Grill over medium-low charcoal for 30 to 40 minutes, turning every five minutes, until dark and blistered outside and cooked through to 71°C (160°F).
- Keep it away from fierce heat. The fat and the sugar in the shallots burn long before the middle is done.
- Cut into lengths and eat with sticky rice, raw vegetables and nam prik num.
Technique
- Fry a spoonful and taste before filling.
- Fill loosely, grill slowly, cook to 71°C (160°F).
- Kaffir lime leaves shaved as fine as thread.
Substitutions
- Bought red curry paste with extra lemongrass and lime leaf added, which is a fair shortcut.
- Formed into patties and pan-fried if you have no casings.
- Baked at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes and finished under a grill.
Variations
- The Lao sai oua is the same sausage across the border.
- Sliced cold into a salad with shallot, mint and lime.
History
A Chiang Mai and Lanna speciality grilled over coals and sold by the coil at northern markets.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sai Ua?
Sai Ua is a charcuterie & cured from Thailand: coiled northern pork sausage packed with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime and chilli. A Chiang Mai and Lanna speciality grilled over coals and sold by the coil at northern markets.
How long does Sai Ua take to make?
Sai Ua takes 1 hour of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 1 kg, about 4 coils. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Sai Ua?
Yes, within limits. Bought red curry paste with extra lemongrass and lime leaf added, which is a fair shortcut. Formed into patties and pan-fried if you have no casings. Baked at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes and finished under a grill.
What is the most important thing to get right in Sai Ua?
Pound rather than blend if you can. A blender shears the lemongrass into fibres that stay stringy in the sausage; pounding breaks the cells and releases the oil.
