Thai-Style Grilled Pork Skewers

Ingredients

• 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons minced cilantro stems, plus fresh cilantro leaves for serving
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon MSG powder, optional
• 2 pounds pork butt, in one piece
• 1 can unsweetened coconut cream
• 1 recipe Thai Dried Chili-Vinegar Dipping Sauce, for serving, optional

Directions

1. In a small bowl, stir together the minced garlic and cilantro stems. Add the palm sugar, then mix in the fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper, and MSG if you’re using it; keep stirring until the sugar has dissolved into the seasonings. Put the bowl aside.
2. Place the pork in the freezer for 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes, just long enough to firm it for cleaner cutting. With a sharp chef’s knife or slicing knife, cut the pork across the grain into strips that are 2-inch-long, 1-inch-wide, and 1/8-inch-thick. The quickest way to get there is to first cut the pork butt into pieces that are 2-inch-wide by 1-inch-thick, then cut those pieces crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick strips.
3. Put the pork in a large bowl and pour in the marinade. Use your hands to turn and separate the slices until every piece is coated evenly. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 36 hours.
4. Slide 1 piece of pork onto a skewer, running the skewer through it 2 times so it holds, then scrunch the meat together like accordion folds. Continue adding pork to the skewer, packing the pieces tightly so no bare skewer shows except for a 2-inch handle at the bottom and the pointed tip at the top. Repeat with the remaining pork.
5. Prepare the grill for skewers, spacing the bricks to match the length of your skewers. Light 1 chimney full of charcoal. Once the coals are fully lit and coated with gray ash, pour them into the channel between the bricks and spread them out evenly.
6. Lay the skewers right over the hot coals, resting them on the bricks so the handles hang over the side closest to you and the pointed ends sit on the far brick wall. Brush the pork with coconut cream. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, turning the skewers and painting on more coconut cream frequently, until the meat is lightly charred and, when you remove a piece and cut it in half, the inside looks cooked through; if flare-ups happen, shift the skewers as needed to move them away from the flames. Transfer the skewers to a serving platter and let them rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately, with lime wedges, cilantro, and the dipping sauce if using passed at the table.