Sin Dat

Ingredients

The meat

• 600 gpork belly or shoulder
• sliced very thinly
• or beef, or chicken
• or a mixture
• 300 gprawns or squid
• optional

The marinade

• 3 tablespoonssoy sauce
• 2 tablespoonsoyster sauce
• 1 tablespoonfish sauce
• 3 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 1egg, beaten
• optional, for tenderness
• 1 tablespoonoil

The broth

• 1.5 litrespork or chicken stock
• 2 slicesginger
• 1onion, halved
• 2 tablespoonssoy sauce
• salt, to taste

For the moat and the table

• 300 gcabbage, cut into pieces
• 200 gmorning glory or spinach
• 200 gmushrooms
• 200 gglass noodles
• soaked
• 4eggs, to crack into the broth
• a piece of pork fat
• to grease the dome

The dipping sauce

• 4 tablespoonsfish sauce
• juice of 3 limes
• 4 clovesgarlic, chopped
• 3bird’s eye chillies, chopped
• 1 tablespoonsugar
• 2 tablespoonstoasted rice powder
• khao khua
• a handful of coriander, chopped

Directions

1. Use it outdoors, in open air. A hot pan of simmering broth sits on the table. Set it on a stable heatproof surface. Keep the cable away from the edge if it is electric. Warn everyone that the dome is very hot. Freeze the meat for thirty minutes first. Firm meat slices far more thinly than soft. Use a sharp knife. Slice across the grain. It is sliced paper thin by machine.
2. Combine the sauces, garlic, sugar and pepper. Add the beaten egg if using. Add the oil. It also helps it hold moisture. Toss the meat in it. Refrigerate it for at least an hour. Marinate in the refrigerator, never on the counter. Keep raw meat separate from everything else.
3. Use separate tongs or chopsticks for raw meat. Never use the same ones for cooked food. Bring out small amounts and refill from the refrigerator. That matters especially in warm weather. Make a simple stock. Simmer it with ginger and onion. Season it lightly. It reduces over an hour. Keep a jug of hot stock beside the table. Top the moat up as it reduces.
4. Rub a piece of pork fat over the hot dome. It stops the meat sticking. Oil on a brush works too. Combine the fish sauce, lime and sugar. Add the chopped garlic and chilli. Add the toasted rice powder. Add the coriander. Toast raw sticky rice in a dry pan.
5. Stir it until it is golden brown and smells nutty. Give it about ten minutes over a medium heat. Keep stirring so it browns evenly. It should be sharply sour and salty.
6. Set the pan in the middle. Arrange the raw meat on platters. Arrange the vegetables and noodles. Put the eggs out. Lay slices of meat on the hot dome. They cook in under a minute. Turn them once. Take them off as they are done.
7. Add vegetables to the simmering broth. Add noodles. Crack eggs in. Add glass noodles late. Added early they drink the moat dry. Use it as a noodle soup base. Raw marinated meat keeps a day refrigerated.

Technique

• Never use a charcoal burner indoors for this. A table-top charcoal grill in a closed room is exactly the carbon monoxide hazard that kills people — the burner sits at head height for a seated person and burns for the length of a meal. The gas has no colour, smell or taste, and causes headache, nausea and confusion before unconsciousness. Use it outdoors in open air, or use an electric or gas table-top burner indoors, which carry no such risk.
• Use separate tongs or chopsticks for raw meat and never the same ones for cooked food. That is the single most important rule at the table with any cook-it-yourself meal.
• Bring out small amounts of raw meat and refill from the refrigerator rather than leaving a platter out for the length of the meal, especially in warm weather. Pork and chicken must be cooked through, not pink.
• Slice the meat very thinly — freeze it for thirty minutes first, since firm meat slices far more thinly than soft. The dome cooks fast and dry, thin slices cook in under a minute, and thick pieces stay raw or burn. Pre-sliced frozen hotpot meat from an Asian grocer is what most people use.
• Season the broth lightly. Fat and juices run into it all through the meal and it reduces over an hour, so an over-seasoned broth becomes inedible. Keep a jug of hot stock beside the table to top the moat up.
• Grease the dome with a piece of pork fat and re-grease it during the meal. It dries out and the meat starts sticking.
• Add glass noodles late. They absorb an enormous amount of broth and drink the moat dry if they go in early.
• Make the dipping sauce assertive — sharply sour, salty and clearly hot. The grilled meat is plain and the sauce is what carries the meal. Serve it in individual bowls, which is more hygienic and lets everyone adjust their own.
• Toast the sticky rice for khao khua until genuinely golden brown and nutty, about ten minutes, stirring constantly. Pale toasted rice tastes of nothing.
• A beaten egg in the marinade tenderises the meat and helps it hold moisture — a common Southeast Asian technique.
• Set the pan on a stable heatproof surface, keep any cable away from the edge, and warn everyone the dome is very hot. There are drinks and often children around a table-top grill.
• The design is genuinely elegant: fat and juices from the grilling dome run down into the moat and flavour the broth, so nothing is wasted and both cook from one heat source.
• This contains fish sauce, soy, oyster sauce, egg and often shellfish. Say plainly what is in each element.

Substitutions

• An electric or gas table-top burner replaces charcoal and is the safe indoor option.
• A ridged griddle with a separate pot of broth approximates the setup, without the fat running into the broth.
• Beef, chicken, prawns or squid replace or join the pork.
• Pre-sliced frozen hotpot meat replaces slicing your own.
• Any Asian greens replace morning glory or spinach.
• Soy sauce replaces fish sauce in the dipping sauce for a version without fish.

Variations

• Mu kratha in Thailand is the same dish under another name.
• Korean barbecue grills at the table without the broth moat.
• Hotpot cooks everything in broth with no grilling dome.
• Sin dat with seafood alone is served at some restaurants.
• Jeow, the pounded Lao dips, are served alongside as alternatives to the lime sauce.
• Sticky rice is eaten with it as with every Lao meal.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sin Dat?

Sin Dat is a main from Laos: table-top dome grill where meat cooks on top while broth simmers in the moat.

How long does Sin Dat take to make?

Sin Dat takes 40 minutes plus marinating of preparation and at the table of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Sin Dat?

Yes, within limits. An electric or gas table-top burner replaces charcoal and is the safe indoor option. A ridged griddle with a separate pot of broth approximates the setup, without the fat running into the broth. Beef, chicken, prawns or squid replace or join the pork. Pre-sliced frozen hotpot meat replaces slicing your own. Any Asian greens replace morning glory or spinach. Soy sauce replaces fish sauce in the dipping sauce for a version without fish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Sin Dat?

Combine the sauces, garlic, sugar and pepper. Add the beaten egg if using. Add the oil. It also helps it hold moisture. Toss the meat in it. Refrigerate it for at least an hour. Marinate in the refrigerator, never on the counter. Keep raw meat separate from everything else.