Sai Krok Isan (ไส้กรอกอีสาน)
Fermented sausage of north-eastern Thailand. The pork and the cooked rice ferment naturally over a few days, developing an acidity that constitutes the very identity of the product.
| Lean pork, minced | 600 g |
| Pork fat, diced | 150 g |
| Cooked and cooled glutinous rice | 250 g |
| Fresh garlic, crushed | 40 g |
| Fine salt | 20 g |
| Ground white pepper | 3 g |
| Hog casing (Ø 24–28 mm) | — |
- Preparing the rice: Steam the glutinous rice until tender, without being pasty. Cool completely.
- Mincing: Mince the pork through the 5 to 6 mm plate.
- Mixing: Combine the minced pork, the diced fat, the cooked rice, the garlic and the salt. Knead vigorously for 5 minutes to mix well and begin developing the bind.
- Stuffing: Stuff into the casings, forming small sausages of 4 to 5 cm, tied in a chain.
- Fermentation: Leave at room temperature (25–30 °C) for 2 to 3 days. The sausages will swell slightly and develop their characteristic acidity.
- Storage: Once fermented, refrigerate to stop the fermentation.
- Cooking: Grill over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until golden.
- Note: The sausage is grilled before being eaten, which places it outside the scope of products eaten raw. The fermentation phase nonetheless follows the same principles: rapid acidification ensures good results—see the note in 'How to read this book'.
The sai krok Isan is a fermented sausage whose technique rests on the spontaneous lactic fermentation of raw pork in the presence of glutinous rice starch. The cooked rice, about 25 per cent of the total weight, constitutes the substrate: its sugars feed the naturally present lactic bacteria, which produce lactic acid over two to three days of fermentation at room temperature. This acidification is at once the preservation process and the mechanism of taste production.
Isan (อีสาน), the plateau of north-eastern Thailand, has a cooking style that is more rustic and bound to Lao traditions, producing several characteristic fermentations, the most notable of which is sai krok Isan, the charcuterie expression. Its kinship with the naem (following entry) is evident in the technique, but the two differ in degree of fermentation: the naem ferments longer and can be eaten raw, whereas the sai krok Isan is always grilled.
The making involves no heat treatment before the fermentation. The forcemeat (raw pork, cooked glutinous rice, garlic, salt) is stuffed fresh, then left at room temperature. In the markets of Isan, vendors offer sausages at different stages of fermentation, allowing customers to choose the level of acidity they want.
Its mode of consumption is inseparable from crunchy accompaniments that counterbalance the acidity: sliced fresh ginger, roasted peanuts, fresh chilli, coriander leaves. This combination is as codified as mustard with the Frankfurter or chimichurri with the Argentine chorizo. Its spread beyond Isan has followed internal migration towards Bangkok since the 1970s, turning a regional sausage into a national product.
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