Moo Ping
Sweet-savoury grilled pork skewers, a Thai street staple.
Ingredients
- 600 g Pork shoulder
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 100 ml Coconut milk
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 4 tbsp Cilantro (optional)
Method
- Slice the pork shoulder into thin, wide strips and pound the garlic and cilantro to a rough paste.
- Toss the pork with the garlic paste, fish sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy, coconut milk, and sugar and leave to marinate at least 20 minutes.
- Thread the pork onto skewers and grill over medium-high heat, turning and basting, until charred at the edges and caramelised.
- Serve with sticky rice.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Moo Ping
Moo ping are Thai grilled pork skewers, one of the most ubiquitous street foods in Thailand, sold from smoky charcoal carts as a breakfast or all-day snack. The character of the dish comes entirely from the marinade: garlic and cilantro root pounded to a paste, seasoned with fish sauce, oyster sauce, and dark soy, sweetened with sugar, and enriched with coconut milk that keeps the lean pork tender and gives the surface something to caramelize. That coconut-milk basting is the signature move — it's what produces the burnished, sticky char that defines a good skewer.
Off the grill the pork is sweet, salty, and smoky, with tender interiors and lacquered, slightly crisp edges where the sugar and coconut have caught the heat. The flavor is unmistakably Thai — that balance of fish sauce funk against sweetness — yet approachable enough to win over almost anyone. Traditionally moo ping travels with a bag of sticky rice, which you pinch and dip, and it makes an easy party or grilling dish scaled up on skewers. Give the pork at least twenty minutes in the marinade, and baste as you turn the skewers to build up that caramelized surface.
Moo Ping: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Moo Ping?
A serving has about 322 calories — 31.6g protein, 10.9g carbs, 16.7g fat, 1.1g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 31.6g of protein, roughly 39% of its calories.
Is Moo Ping gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Oyster sauce, Dark soy sauce. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for those ingredients to make it gluten-free.
How long does Moo Ping take to make?
About 35 minutes start to finish, but only around 20 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Moo Ping?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out cilantro — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Moo Ping make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.