How to Make Moo Nam Tok | Grilled Thai Pork Salad

Do you love authentic Moo Nam Tok from your favorite Thai restaurant, and wish you could make it for your family, but feel intimidated to try making it at home?

 I’ve been there too, but not anymore!

Over a decade ago I fell in love with Thai food, my Thai Hubby, and cooking Thai food, and after learning from my Thai grandma-n-law, and Thai Hubby, and cooking for years, I now teach Thai cooking classes at my home every week!

But since you can’t make it to my cooking class right now, I’m happy to teach you right now how to make Moo Nam Tok and answer your questions, just like if you were at my Thai cooking class in my kitchen!

Sherri’s Moo Nam Tok Story

When I taught in Bangkok, I would spend the hours before my lunch break lesson planning for my afternoon classes, but mainly dreaming and drooling about what fresh, cheap Thai food I was going to eat for lunch.

Sometimes during our lunch break, instead of going across the street to buy our lunch from one of the vendors lined up in a maze at the busy, loud market, my co-workers and I would walk in the opposite direction to a quiet spot near a Moo Nam Tok street vendor.

The smells of roasted rice powder, Thai chili flakes, fresh shallots and lime freshened up the polluted air around us as we stood and waited for our Thai Grilled Pork Salad.

The Nam Tok vendor would scoop the grilled pork, green onion, shallots and cilantro mixture out of a silver pot, and slide it into a clear, plastic bag and twist a rubber band around it, so it puffed out like a balloon. 

Then she would put the pure white sticky rice in a smaller clear plastic bag and fold the top over. All of it went into a white grocery bag, and she would gingerly place crispy fresh cabbage and vibrant green mint on top.

After picking up a creamy Thai iced milk tea  at the next vendor up, we would head back to school to eat before our classes started. 

After getting white plastic bowls, forks and spoons from the kitchen area, we’d dump our beautiful lunch into the bowls, sit down at small desks that would soon be filled with Thai and Korean kids who wanted tutoring, and dig in.

I loved grabbing the pure white sticky rice with my fingers and feeling it adhere to them like Elmer’s glue. 

Then I’d swirl the sticky rice ball in the Moo Nam Tok sauce, create a perfect bite of spicy, zesty pork, crisp shallots, fresh cilantro and vibrant green onion, pop it in my mouth and savor.

FAQs

What does Moo Nam Tok mean?

In Thai, Moo is pork and Nam Tok means waterfall (หมูน้ำตก). The dish is originally from the northeastern Isan area of Thailand.

The name comes from traditionally the meat was cooked to medium-rare, so it still contained blood when it was done, and when sliced the blood would run out from it like a waterfall.

Not the most attractive name once you know the story! Lol!

What does Moo Nam Tok taste like?

Thai Grilled Pork Salad tastes similar to Larb. It is spicy from the Thai chili flakes, sour from the fresh lime juice, umami packed from the toasted rice powder and fish sauce, has a rich depth from the pork flavor, and is so refreshing from the shallots, fresh mint, cilantro and green onions.

What is the best pork to use for Moo Nam Tok?

Pork scotch steaks, aka pork neck, is typically used in Thailand for Moo Nam Tok, but my grocery store doesn’t always have them. Pork scotch steaks are great because they aren’t too lean and aren’t too fatty, so they are packed with flavor, and not just fat.

Pork Scotch Steaks or Pork Neck Substitutes: 

Since my grocery store doesn’t always have pork scotch steaks or pork neck, I substitute pork butt when I make Moo Nam Tok. I cut it into thin slabs about the length and width of what a steak would be. It’s also what I use in Moo Ping, Thai Pork Skewers, because similar to pork neck, it has fat, but not too much, and is loaded with flavor. 

If you want to use pork tenderloin or pork chops, that’s ok, but since that kind of meat is leaner, it won’t really have that rich depth of flavor you are looking for like you’d have on the streets of Thailand.

Moo Nam Tok Ingredients

• 1 lb. pork scotch steaks, or pork butt (sliced into the width and length of a steak) or skirt steaks: read above to learn more
• fresh lime juice from 2-3 limes: adds that zesty flavor that you find in most Isan dishes.
• 1 tbsp. roasted rice powder: an umami powerhouse! If you’ve never heard of it, make your own, or buy it at the Asian market!
• 2 tsp.-1 tbsp. Thai roasted chili powder, depending on spice preference: Not like roasted red pepper flakes from pizza place! These are really spicy, so add it slow!
• 1-1.5 tbsp. fish sauce: my favorite Thai sauce because it’s magical! It smells horrible, but has amazing umami superpowers!
• 1 tsp. sugar: to help balance out the other flavors.
• 1/2 c.-1 c. water or broth: to help give it some sauce.
• 1 c. green onion, sliced to 1/4 in.: adds a nice oniony, crispy flavor
• 1 c. fresh cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped, and stems minced: this lemony, peppery herb is a staple in Thai recipes!
• 2-3 shallots, thinly sliced: adds such a pretty purple contrast to the greens, and its crispy, peppery, garlicy, onion flavor pairs perfectly with all the ingredients
• 1 c. fresh mint leaves: the sweet, cooling, refreshing flavor balances out with those Thai chili flakes

Moo Nam Tok Recipe

My mouth starts to tingle and long for my favorite Moo Nam Tok street vendor to pop up in my kitchen right now, but Thai Hubby says he likes my Moo Nam Tok recipe better than Thailand’s street vendors’ because sometimes street vendors’ versions are more fat than pork!

I love how quick this recipe is for an easy Thai weeknight dinner that is packed with flavor. 

All you have to do is chop up your green onions, shallots, cilantro, lime and pluck off your mint.

Then salt and pepper your Thai pork.

Grill the steak or cook on the pan for a few minutes.

And then throw in the rest of the ingredients to make a quick sauce, and mix it all together! Yay!

What to serve with Moo Nam Tok?

Moo Nam Tok in Thailand is typically served with:

• Thai sticky rice, but you can also just make jasmine rice if you don’t have sticky rice.
• Steamed veggies like cabbage

If you are looking to make a feast out of it, you can also pair it with other Isan dishes like:

• Thai Sun-Dried Beef Jerky
• Larb

Give this Nam Tok recipe a try, and let me know your thoughts! 

My favorite place to hang out online is in Instagram stories! Share your Moo Nam Tok photo with me @thaifoodie, I’d love to see it!

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