Vancouver Community College is Western Canada’s largest culinary school – many of Canada’s top chefs started their careers here. With programs ranging from 16 weeks to 10 months, VCC offers hands-on training from award-winning chefs in real-world food-service settings – because real learning drives real change. Whether students are launching their cooking career or advancing their skills, our industry-recognized credentials – including apprenticeships, certificates, and advanced certificates – prepare them for career success.

Many cultures have variations of meat on a stick. I love the bold flavours and the coconut glaze in Mu Ping, one of Thailand’s popular street foods. The following recipe makes eight skewers, cooked on a charcoal or gas grill, with an active preparation time of 30 minutes and inactive preparation time of two to 12 hours.

Here’s a pro tip: Leaving some fat on the pork will help with juicy and flavourful skewers.

To make this dish plant-based, substitute pork for firm, fleshy mushrooms such as king oyster mushrooms and remove the fish sauce.

Equipment

• Charcoal or gas grill

• 8 x 6-inch bamboo skewers

Ingredients

• 600g of pork butt

• 10g of lemongrass, finely minced

• 7g (2 cloves) garlic, finely minced

• 30g of palm sugar

• 1 tablespoon of soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce

• 1/4 Thai red chili, finely minced (add more or less according to your preference)

• 2 teaspoons of canola oil

• 5 sprigs of spring cilantro, finely minced

• 2 tablespoons of coconut cream

• 1 tablespoon of white sugar

• zest of 2 limes

• Garnish: limes, cilantro, mint and lettuce

Instructions

1. Soak the bamboo skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.

2. Trim most of the excess fat from the pork, slice into thin strips, and set aside.

3. Combine the lemongrass, garlic, sugar, soy, fish sauce, chillies, oil and cilantro.

4. Add pork to the marinade and mix until well combined. Cover and place in the fridge for a minimum of two hours to overnight.

5. Mix the coconut cream, lime zest and sugar until dissolved and keep in the fridge.

6. Thread the pork slices onto skewers, in a tight formation.

7. Preheat a gas grill or light charcoal one hour ahead of cooking time.

8. Wipe the grill grates with a lightly greased paper towel.

9. Place the pork skewers on the grill and rotate every two minutes.

10. After six minutes, baste with coconut cream and repeat every minute.

11. Cook pork to an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celsius.

12. Allow the pork skewers to rest for five minutes before eating.

13. Serve with fresh herbs, lettuce and lime wedge.

About Karen Gin
Before becoming a Chef Instructor at Vancouver Community College in 2012, Karen worked in many luxury hotel kitchens in Vancouver, BC. On weekends, Karen can be found visiting small independent grocery stores, on the hunt to find unique ingredients and products. She uses them to create authentic flavours for friends and family.

About VCC’s culinary department
Vancouver Community College is Western Canada’s largest culinary school – many of Canada’s top chefs started their careers here. With programs ranging from 16 weeks to 10 months, VCC offers hands-on training from award-winning chefs in real-world food- service settings – because real learning drives real change. Whether students are launching their cooking career or advancing their skills, our industry-recognized credentials – including apprenticeships, certificates, and advanced certificates – prepare them for career success.

For more information on VCC’s Culinary Arts program, see www.vcc.ca/programscourses/baking-and-culinary/culinary