While I do not consider myself the most ambitious person in the world, there are certain things to which I will go to great lengths to obtain. An excellent sausage, for example.
With Memorial Day signaling the unofficial start of summer last weekend, I intend to maximize my grilled meat intake over the next few months. So for this week’s INdulge, I ventured up north for:
The next dish you should try around Indy
Many cuisines lay claim to a standout meat tube, but one that tends to fly under the radar is Thai. In addition to the noodles, stir fries and curries known across the globe, the Southeast Asian nation also boasts a tremendous sausage called sai krok Isan, which you can find on the “special appetizers” menu at the recently opened Thai Prime in Carmel.
Hailing from the 20-province northeastern region of Isan, sai krok Isan translates efficiently if unglamorously to “filled intestine, Isan-style.” More specifically, Isan sausage consists of glutinous rice mixed with ground pork that is fermented for a few days before it is grilled and served with various crudités, typically bird’s eye chilies and sliced ginger.
Thai Prime serves its sai krok ($12) sliced in thick oblong coins alongside the standard cardinal-red chilies and matchsticks of ginger, plus cilantro, slivered red onion, peanuts and lettuce. The sausage itself is kind of perfect, its casing blistered with char to the point that it doesn’t snap so much as crack when you bite into it. Inside, the combination of rice and fatty pork makes for supremely soft and savory mouthfuls punctuated by plenty of hot garlic and a faint sourness imparted by the fermentation process.
I gladly crunched through the accompanying vegetation, which between the raw onion and searing chilies is admittedly a bit like bludgeoning your taste buds with a million little hammers. Also note that cilantro and ginger can taste like soap to some people who have certain genetic predispositions, so know your limits if you don’t want your meal to evoke notes of Dove Beauty Bar.
Like many beloved dishes, sai krok Isan likely came about as a means of preserving food, in this case pork. Archaeological evidence suggests pigs have been a staple of various Asian cuisines for thousands of years, so early Thai farmers had to get creative to keep their cutlets and ham hocks up to code. Among the methods employed in modern-day Isan and Laos was a process called naem in which meat is coated in a paste of salted sticky rice and hung in the sun for a few days.
As the rice and pork get to know each other, lactobacillus bacteria in the meat eat the sugars in the rice and produce lactic acid as a byproduct. Not only does the lactic acid give the pork a vaguely tangy flavor, it also prevents the growth of nasty bacteria like salmonella and E. coli in the immediate environment.
Notably, this process only works if it occurs in a minimally oxygenated environment, such as the inside of a tightly packed animal intestine. When Isan sausage is properly stuffed and doesn’t spend too much time hammocking beneath the sun, it develops plenty of nice lactic acid-producing bacteria without any of the scary kind. The grill takes care of the rest.
Still, “cover in wet rice and leave out in the sun” isn’t exactly on page one of the food safety playbook, so these days, sai krok Isan is typically fermented via vacuuming and other commercial processes. I encourage anyone who pines for the summer sizzle of the grill to give the dish a try, be it at Thai Prime or anywhere else you can find it.
I hope learning the history of sai krok Isan has not dampened your hunger. Although, speaking purely for myself, knowing how the sausage is made never seems to stop me from eating it.
What: Sai krok Isan, $12
Where: Thai Prime, 1200 S. Rangeline Road, Carmel, (317) 936-9445, thaiprimecarmel.com
In case that’s not your thing: Thai Prime serves an upscale take on Thai cuisine that vacillates between traditional and contemporary, with classic dishes like Massaman curry ($20), holy basil stir fry ($20), papaya salad ($14) and the generously spiced “crying tiger” steak ($28) alongside more imaginative interpretations like stuffed chicken wings with chili sauce ($15) and marinated grilled sirloin ($38). The restaurant also boasts a full bar and comprehensive wine list.
Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Instagram @BradleyHohulin and stay up to date with Indy dining news by signing up for the Indylicious newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: INdulge: Thai sausage at new Carmel restaurant is next dish to try
Reporting by Bradley Hohulin, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
