sai ua

a recipe for an aromatic Thai pork sausage without a casing

Gabriela Kulesza

Sep 26, 2024

Sai ua - Thai pork sausage

Serve: 8 sausages (4 portions)

Ingredients:

500g minced pork (70% lean meat and 30% fat)
2 stalks of lemongrass
10g galangal
6 mild dried red chillis (15g)
1 bird’s eye chilli
2 garlic cloves
1/2 shallot (15g)
10g fresh coriander stems
15g anchovy fillets
1 lime (zest from the whole lime, 10ml of juice + more for serving)
5g kaffir lime leaves
2 stalks of spring onions (20g)
5g dried turmeric
20g fish sauce
5g caster sugar
fine sea salt
white peppercorns

For serving

250g cucumber (1 piece)
100g white cabbage
4 bird’s eye chillis
4 stalks of coriander
2 stalks of basil

Extra note:

I split the recipe over 2 days since the sausages need to rest and the meat soaks up the flavours in the fridge overnight
No need to purchase sausage casings as cling film works just fine
If you can’t find fresh galangal - check out the freezer section. It’s better to use the frozen galangal than substituting it with ginger as the flavour is different. I find ginger spicier and more pungent while galangal has a more citrusy note.
If you want to be more traditional, you can replace anchovy fillets with fermented shrimp paste, and powdered turmeric with fresh one. I didn't include these in the recipe because they're hard to find where I currently stay.
If you don’t have a granite mortar and pestle, work with a powerful immersion blender instead to make a red curry paste
Feel free to adjust the spice level to suit your preference

Method:

Prepare ingredients for the red curry paste

Dried red and bird’s eye chillis

Bring a small pot with water to boil.

Remove the tops and the seeds from the dried chillis and cut them with kitchen scissors (see the photo attached).

Once the water starts to boil, add the dried chillis, turn the heat off and soak them for about 10 minutes or until softened. Drain and chop into small chunks as presented below. The reason they are cut is to make it easier and faster to pound in a mortar.

That’s the dried chillies prepared. Now, to prepare the bird’s eye chilli, remove its stem and thinly slice it. Set aside.

Lemongrass

Peel away the tough outer layers with your hands to expose the white and fragrant part. Cut off the bottom (about 0,5 cm) and the top parts (around 7 cm). Feel free to save the layers and the top part for your next dinner (you could infuse a soup or a stew with it).

Thinly slice the lemongrass, then finely chop it with a sharp knife as shown below.

Galangal

Peel the skin and thinly slice the root with a sharp knife. Arrange the slices into piles (3/4 slices each) and cut them into strips, then chop finely.

Allium

Thinly slice the garlic cloves, and roughly chop half the shallot.

Coriander stems

Pick the coriander leaves and set aside for later. Thinly slice coriander roots.

Lime zest

Grate zest from a whole lime.

Anchovy fillets

Mash the fillets on a chopping board using a fork until they become paste-like.

Making the red curry paste

It's essential to keep in mind that the toughest ingredients should always be pounded first before introducing softer elements. Additionally, bear in mind, not to add all the ingredients at the same time. Once the first component is pounded and you’re happy with the consistency, you can proceed with the next one.

Gather all the prepped ingredients: rehydrated and fresh red chillis, lemongrass, galangal, half shallot, garlic, coriander stems, lime zest and anchovy fillets.

Place a cloth or an oven mitt under the granite mortar to protect the surface from scratching your countertop.

Put the cut lemongrass inside a mortar and pound it with a pestle making up and down and circular grinding motions. If the cuts move to the sides, scrape them and push them down. Repeat pounding until you achieve a smooth paste.

Once the consistency is shown as below, add galangal and repeat the process.

Add rehydrated chillis into the lemongrass and galangal paste and continue pounding. Remember to scrape the sides.

Add the bird’s eye chilli and keep pounding until the paste reaches a uniform paste.

Once the chillis are ground well, add coriander stems and break them down. Followed by a half shallot and sliced garlic. Pound until you achieve a smooth paste. Add lime zest and mix with a pestle. The whole process of pounding should take about 15 minutes.

Get ready the rest of the ingredients

Kaffir lime leaves

Pinch the top of the stem and tear it out. Stack the two halves, roll into a cylinder and thinly slice it (check the gif below).

Chop the slices as indicated below.

Coriander leaves and spring onions

Chop picked coriander leaves and thinly slice spring onions.

Combine the meat

Add minced pork into a bowl, along with the red curry paste, kaffir lime & coriander leaves, spring onions, minced anchovy fillets and dried turmeric.

Season with fish sauce, caster sugar, and a squeeze of lime. Add a pinch of fine sea salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly (you can put gloves on to avoid discolouration of your skin). Do not overmix the ingredients as the longer you combine the meat, the tougher it gets.

Check the seasoning. Heat some oil in a small pan, add a tiny chunk of meat, flatten it down and cook it for a few minutes. Taste it and add more fish sauce, salt, sugar or lime juice to the raw meat mixture if necessary.

Rolling sausages (8 pieces)

Make sure you have cling film, kitchen scissors, a ruler, and a scale ready (feel free to eyeball it if you like).

You'll be working in two batches, so begin by cutting four squares of cling film, each measuring 20x20cm. Lay them flat on your work surface and stretch them out.

Weigh 85g of meat for each sausage (4 times), then shape them into rough logs with your hands. Place each log in the centre of the prepped cling film.

Wrap the sausage in the cling film rolling away from you. To close the first side, start turning downward on the working surface and pinching one side. Once it’s closed, roll the other side, and shape the sausage on a counter until you achieve an even round shape. Check out the video below:

Refrigerate the sausages overnight for the flavours to mingle.

NEXT DAY

Prepare fresh vegetables

Cut a cucumber into sticks leaving the seeds and skin on. Cut a cabbage head into quarters and remove the stem. Separate each leaf. Prepare coriander and basil.