Grilled Marinated Pork Chop with Spaghetti and Mushroom Sauce

Think of Thai food and the first images that come to mind are fragrant herbs and aromatics — lemongrass, ginger, kaffir lime leaves — tropical fruits, creamy curries, stir-fried noodles and jasmine rice.

While these are all typical Thai ingredients and dishes, visitors to the Land of Smiles might be surprised to find that there’s another common ingredient found in everything from noodle soup and phad grapao to simply grilled on a stick — pork.

In the northern part of the country, pork plays a particularly prominent role with local sausages like naem, a fermented sour sausage, and sai oua, stuffed full of chillies and herbs, eaten both in dishes and on their own. 

While pork may not be quite as prevalent in the rest of Thailand, specifically in the deep south where seafood and beef reign supreme, many Thai dishes show influences of traditional Chinese flavours and cooking techniques which regularly include the succulent meat.

At 5-star hotels across the country, talented chefs are raising the humble ingredient up to new levels and, with the Year of the Pig just around the corner in 2019, what better time to take a peek at some thoroughly indulgent pork dishes. 

To bring out the flavours even more, the dish below highlights a pairing recommendation made by Bart Duykers of Andaman Wine Club from each restaurant’s wine list.   andaman-wine-club.com; [email protected]

akyra Manor Chiang Mai

At akyra Manor Chiang Mai, Executive Chef Phubase Chuprakong has made a name for himself thanks to the reimagined Italian dishes featuring locally-sourced ingredients that he serves at Italics. Located in the trendy Nimmanhaemin neighbourhood, the sophisticated restaurant is what you would expect to find in a global city rather than the northern Thai town of Chiang Mai with stylishly plated dishes to match. The Grilled Marinated Pork Chop with Spaghetti and Mushroom Sauce is especially appealing to both one’s taste buds and the eyes, coming served on a sleek, matte black plate.

Wine companion: We are going Italian, and with this dish, a hearty white. Look no further than the Braide Alte Grand Cru from Ruttars in Dolegna del Collio. An intense straw-coloured chardonnay; broad, with spicy notes on the nose and warm and enveloping in the mouth.

theakyra.com/chiang-mai