It has become a standing joke in our home that whenever my wife changes the dishwashing sponge, I will cook a dish with fresh turmeric root in it.

For those of you who have not used it, turmeric root will stain anything and everything it comes in contact with as soon as it is peeled or cut. Think saffron yellow as in monk’s robes and you get an idea.

So, hands, knives, cutting boards, blender, etc all get stained, and of course the sponge when you wash it. The stain on hands goes after a day or two of regular washing, the plastic blender container gets permanently discoloured and of course, the sponge never recovers.

So, when she changed the sponge, I got a special request to not cook anything with turmeric root in it this week. Today is Sunday, so from tomorrow I am free to cook whatever I please once again. Now it’s not deliberate mind, and I am in no hurry to use turmeric root; it’s just that so many South-East Asian dishes need it.

Well, I finally got around to grilling the great cuts of pork that I bought a while back.

As promised, you can see the photograph in the latest article, Cooking Methods and Cuts - Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken.

Now, I can think of Moo Ping and other great uses for it.

When I was a kid, lean pork was definitely an oxymoron. Had I even said it in school, there would have been shrieks of derision at the stupid kid. About as intelligent as saying giraffes have short necks.

As a kid, pork meant fat. In fact my father would ask for the cuts with a ‘decent’ amount of fat because he liked eating it. If you wanted lean meat, you bought beef.

For me as an 8 year old (pre-historic times, I know) fat meant this chunk of rubbery meat that did not break up no matter how long I chewed on it. Having not yet learnt the trick of a tissue to the mouth, I would finally stop chewing and try and swallow the damned thing. Gag! Face turning pale, quick sip of water to steady the gag reflexes. Deep breath, then a big swig of water to wash it down in one swallow. Phew, that was close. Damn pigs!

So, as soon as I was old enough to assert my independence, pork disappeared from my vocabulary. Well into my adult life, I hated pork, to the point where people would enquire whether my aversion was for religious reasons.

The only pork I would eat was char siew, and woe betide the vendor if there was too much fat despite my explicit request for lean meat. Actually, woe betide me, because I just did not eat it, preferring to leave the table still hungry rather than eat the stuff.

Fast forward, and somewhere in recent times, lean pigs became a reality. (What next, short-necked giraffes?)

Anyway, the kid in me said “Great, now I can use pork in all sorts of dishes I cook”; except slow-cooking for example. Forget the blarney about slow, moist heat and succulent meat. Lean pork in a slow-cooker comes out too dry for my liking. OK if you like meat well done I guess.
And grilling? I could fall off the chair laughing if you suggested it.

So imagine my surprise when I was shopping in the Villa Market on Soi Thong Lo and I saw these individually packed cuts of pork marked “Pork for Grilling”. Unmistakable from a distance were the streaks of fat. Fat as in marbling that is, not yukky chunks on the side. Beautiful, even, fine streaks, like a meteor shower………pinch me, I must be dreaming.

I picked up a pack, looking at it like it was manna from heaven, or like a South Seas islander would look at a pig he was about to cook maybe?

Seriously though, these were things of beauty. I picked two of fairly similar size and popped them in the cart, not quite believing my eyes.

I really should have taken a photograph before sticking them in the freezer, but I will make up for it when I thaw them out.

What am I going to cook with them? Haven’t a clue yet, though I’m sure I’ll come up with some appropriate recipe and a bottle of wine to go with them.

Lean pigs indeed. Sez who?