How to Make Moo Ping | Thai Grilled Pork

Thai grilled pork, (moo ping in Thai), is the perfect dish for those trying Thai food for the first time or long-time fans! It’s packed with Thai flavors you adore, plus it’s crispy, juicy, and fun to grill!

Moo Ping Thai Street Food

I loved eating Thai grilled pork from street vendors in Thailand for breakfast, but I have to say, eating it at home might be even better.

In Thailand, I’ve gotten Moo Ping from Thai street vendors that is more fat than meat, which is fine for some people, but I like more meat than fat. 

Plus, when we make Thai grilled pork on skewers at home, we make a feast of it, so instead of just a few skewers, you can eat Moo Ping to your heart’s content.

What does Moo Ping mean in Thai?

In Thai moo means pork and/or pig, and ping means grilled, so Moo Ping is grilled pork.

What is the history of Moo Ping?

Moo Ping started to get popular as a Thai street food in the 1950s when food transport carts were redesigned and turned into street vendor carts.

Moo Ping Recipe

Moo Ping Marinade

• 4 lb or so of boneless pork shoulder, aka pork butt (at my grocery stork when I ask for it they lead me to pork carnitas meat, which is the same thing but cheaper and what I use), cut into bite-sized, 1/2 in. thick pieces: I love using this cut of meat because it’s a nice balance of fat and meat, and packed with flavor!

• 4 tbsp. finely chopped cilantro stems (or cilantro roots if you can find them at your Asian store, but I can’t usually) : Cilantro is used so often in Thai recipes because of how it adds a lemony, peppery, pungent flavor that pairs so well with Thai dishes. This flavor is even more intense in cilantro root, or the stems if you can’t find cilantro root.

• 10 garlic cloves peeled: Garlic appears in almost every Thai dish to add depth and richness to the flavor

• 1 tbsp of white pepper powder, or white peppercorns: White pepper powder is used more often in Thai cooking than black pepper. White pepper powder dissolves easier in sauces and marinades, and has a more pungent, spicy flavor than black pepper.

• 1 tbsp sugar: Sugar is often used in Thai cooking to help balance out the other intense flavors like fish sauce.

• 2 tbsp fish sauce: My fav magical Thai ingredient! Even though it’s smelly, you’d never know once you add it to your Thai dish because all you taste is the savory, umami flavor that can’t be replicated with any other sauce!

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce: One of my other favorite Thai ingredients I used most often because of it’s sweet, savory, umami notes and how it tenderizes meat so well. 

• 1 tsp baking soda:  to help tenderize the meat. Want to nerd out some and learn how? Baking soda changes the physical composition of meat fibers by raising the pH levels on the surface to make it tougher for the proteins in the meat to bond.

• 1/2 c coconut milk, to brush the meat with: to keep the meat moist and add a sticky, gorgeous glaze to it.

• Bamboo skewers soaked ahead of time for a few hours: skewering meat helps enhance the flavor profile.

How to Cut the Pork

Cut the pork for moo ping into bite-sized, 1/2 in. thick pieces. 

But why??

Marinating smaller pieces of meat allows more flavor to penetrate dishes like Moo Ping and more surface area to come into contact with the heat, producing a Maillard reaction, which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor. Whoa!

How to Skewer Thai Grilled Pork

There are many different ways you can to skewer pork for Thai grilled pork, and you can do whichever way you prefer. 

Some say to thread around 7-8 pieces of pork onto the skewers stacked tightly on top of each other like bricks—stacking the meat this way helps keep the meat moist.

Others like my Thai Hubby prefer to thread each piece so it lays flat on the grill. Do whichever one you prefer!

How to Grill

1. Grill over medium coals, or if you want to do it more Thai-style, use wood charcoal. If you don’t have a charcoal grill, use what you’ve got and know it might taste different from the streets of Thailand, but it’s still going to be delicious!
2. While grilling, occasionally brush the coconut milk over pork.
3. You want the pork to end up with nice charred bits on the outside, and to be cooked through on the inside.

What to serve with Thai Grilled Pork

In Thailand, street vendors serve Moo Ping with sticky rice, and we love to eat it that way too. Check out my sticky rice recipe post to learn how to make it. 

We also serve it with grilled veggies or boiled corn! Whatever summer veggies we have on hand!

Sherri’s Notes on Moo Ping:

When I taught in Thailand, almost every morning one of my fellow teachers would come in the door holding a white plastic bag that had steam rising out of it.

He would set it on his desk, and out of it he would pull out another steaming, small clear bag full of sticky white rice, and then another bag with five wooden skewers of stacked, small bite-sized, thin chunks of grilled pork with a dark glossy sheen.

He was a big American guy and would devour every morsel in about four bites and then rave about how amazing it was to get to eat Moo Ping, Thai grilled pork on skewers, for breakfast every morning.

Then he would glance at the clock on the wall, and wonder if he had time to run down to the Moo Ping street vendor around the corner to get some more before his class started.

Sometimes when I meet other moms and I tell them how much I love Thai food, they say, “I LOVE Thai food, but my hubby is a meat and potatoes type of guy, and isn’t really into ethnic food. I’ve tried making him Thai, but he just didn’t like it.”

Then I tell them, “Not to fear, moo ping is here!” Not really, I’m not that cheesy, but it’s true.

I’ve made Thai grilled pork on skewers for our family and friends who don’t normally like Thai food, and they gobble it up like it’s a burger and fries, and my picky four-year-old son scarfs it down like it’s a 6-pack of Chick-fil-A chicken nuggets.

Make Thai grilled pork tonight for dinner, and share your pic with me on Instagram @thaifoodie, which is my favorite place to hang out online. Can’t wait to see your version!

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