AI-generated image
Moo manao (pork in lime and chilli dressing)
Moo manao: blanched pork under a sharp lime, garlic and chilli dressing
Moo manao is a drinking snack and dinner side from central Thailand, served in Bangkok bars and at home with sticky rice: thin slices of pork, blanched until just cooked, laid on ice-cold cabbage or lettuce and drowned in a fierce dressing of lime, raw garlic, bird's eye chilli and fish sauce. This is a pork dish. The mistake is boiling the pork for too long, which makes the thin slices tough and dry; poach them only until they turn white all through. Chef's tip: plunge the cooked slices into iced water for a few seconds, so they stay tender and take the dressing well.
- Total time
- 17 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the pork
- 9 oz pork loin or tenderloinvery thinly sliced
- 1 tsp saltfor the water
For the dressing
- 4 garlic clovesfinely chopped
- 4 bird's eye chilliesfinely chopped; use 1 for mild
- 4 tbsp lime juiceabout 3 limes
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 handful coriander leaveschopped
To serve
- 5 ½ oz white cabbage or iceberg lettucein bite-size pieces, chilled
- 1 handful mint leaves (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Stir 4 garlic cloves, 4 bird's eye chillies, 4 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp fish sauce and 2 tsp sugar together until the sugar dissolves. Taste: it should be sour first, then salty, then hot.
5 minStep 2: Bring a pan of water to the boil with 1 tsp salt. Add 9 oz pork loin or tenderloin and poach, stirring, until the slices have turned white all the way through with no pink, about 1–2 minutes. The thin slices are cooked when they reach 160°F.
3 minStep 3: Lift the pork into a bowl of iced water for 10 seconds, then drain well.
1 minStep 4: Arrange 5 ½ oz white cabbage or iceberg lettuce on a plate, lay the pork on top and spoon over the dressing. Finish with 1 handful coriander leaves and 1 handful mint leaves and serve straight away.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does moo manao (pork in lime and chilli dressing) take?
- About 17 minutes in total: 12 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of lime juice?
- Lemon juice, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Pork souvlaki
This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.
Greek
Pfälzer SaumagenStuffed pig's stomach
Saumagen is the pride of the Palatinate, served at wine-village festivals and family dinners from the Haardt hills to Ludwigshafen. A cleaned pig's stomach is stuffed with diced pork shoulder, pork sausage meat, potato and carrot seasoned with marjoram and nutmeg, poached slowly, then sliced thick and fried until crusty. The stomach works only as a casing and is ordered from a butcher; if you can't get one, bake the same filling in a covered terrine in a water bath. Serve with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Chef's tip: fill the stomach only three-quarters full, or it bursts as the potatoes swell.
German
Khao kluk kapiShrimp paste rice
Everything on this central Thai plate is arranged in little heaps around a mound of rice tossed with garlic and fermented shrimp paste: sticky caramelised pork (moo wan), threads of sour green mango, shallots, chillies, sliced long beans, crisp dried shrimp and ribbons of thin omelette. You mix a bit of each into every spoonful, so salty, sweet, sour and hot arrive together. It's a favourite at Bangkok's curry-and-rice shops and a clever way to use up yesterday's rice at home; lime wedges and cucumber cool it down. Chef's tip: use day-old jasmine rice straight from the fridge, because freshly cooked rice clumps and smears the shrimp paste instead of coating each grain.