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Gourmet Pok Pok Sausage and Whole Grain Noodles
Olympia Provisions Gourmet Pok Pok Sausage- Sai Ua Sausage
My wife has been craving Sai Ua sausage ever since she moved to the US in 2007 but has had a very hard time finding it. A big part of the reason is that this type of sausage is a Northern Thai specialty. Thanks to artificial intelligence we were made aware of exactly what she wanted from the media aggregation app, Flipboard. An up and coming company called Olympia Provisions, founded 2009, based in the Northwest, specializes in gourmet meats and creates a Northern Thai inspired sausage. It is made with coarsely ground pork sausage with lemongrass, cilantro and galangal root already mixed in.
The Flipboard app knows we pay attention to all things Thailand and put something about the sausage in my feed. My wife was super excited stating, "I've been looking for that everywhere." To make things even better, the staff at Olympia Provisions is super nice and responded immediately to my request for a sample for our food blog by sending us a box with a pack of the sausage on the ice.
We have the cookbook of the same name, Pok Pok which my wife thinks is from one of the same people responsible for the sausage. Pok Pok refers to the sound made when a mortar and pestle are being pounded in typical Thai style food preparation. You can check out their Pok Pok sausage for this recipe at their website here, http://www.olympiaprovisions.com/. The specific page for this sausage is here http://www.olympiaprovisions.com/collections/sausages/products/sai-ua-sausage.
A Gourmet Treat For Sharing
If you check out the companies website, you can tell immediately that they produce only high-quality items. When you open the box, you feel special, like someone really appreciates you with the high-quality packing materials and attention to detail. The company was recently featured in the New York Times, and the brand has a buzz about it as an up and coming trending product. Click here for the New York Times Article We love to entertain friends, and I think this recipe combined with my wives exotic background from one of the most famous tourist destinations in Thailand will bowl them over. Check out the recipe she made with it below and let us know what you think. 😉 😉
Making it Healthier
In general sausage is not considered one of the healthier choices on any menu. The good news is that over the past 20 years pork has become significantly leaner. Of course if you are on a special diet, avoiding common pitfalls of meat you will want to aire on the cautious side but there is a lot of good news when it comes to pork.
When I first heard the advertisements on the radio and TV calling pork the other white meat I was skeptical. If you go to the website of the campaign though they have backed up their claims that pork is a viable alternative to chicken as a lean protein source. On their website, http://www.porkbeinspired.com/about-the-national-pork-board/the-other-white-meat-brand/ it states the following.
"A study released in 2006 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) states that six common cuts of fresh pork are leaner today than they were 15 years ago — on average about 16 percent lower in total fat and 27 percent lower in saturated fat. In addition, pork tenderloin is now as lean as skinless chicken breast. The study found a 3-ounce serving of pork tenderloin contains only 2.98 grams of fat, whereas a 3-ounce serving of skinless chicken breast contains 3.03 grams of fat."
Thank goodness for modern science improving our favorite foods because my wife said that this favorite of her hometown wouldn't be the same with anything other than pork. We were unable to find the nutrition facts on the packaging or on their website so I will ask them and add the info to the site if and when they supply it to us. As always, when in doubt check it out. If you have a special diet or concerns you always want to follow up with your health care provider.
My wife also added whole grain noodles for a good source of carbs to balance out the protein. I also had a glass of red wine with my stir fried sausage noodles which was a nice pairing. The ingredients felt like they were high enough quality to warrant a glass of something nice in this recipe.
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 links of Pok Pok Thai Northern sausage, slice them into a wheel shape
- 5 cups cooked whole grain spaghetti
- 1 cup of Thai basil leaves
- 1 sliced red bell pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut it about 1 ½- 2 inches
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ tablespoon seasoning soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sweet dark soy sauce
- 2 ½ teaspoon Thai chili paste in oil
- ½ cup of water
- 4-5 dried Thai chili as an option
Directions
- Heat olive oil on medium-high and add garlic and sliced Pok Pok Thai Northern sausage and stir-fry for a couple minutes
- Add red bell pepper and yellow onion into the wok and cook until the onion is transparent.
- Add cooked whole grain spaghetti and fish sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, seasoning soy sauce, and Thai chili paste. Stir all the ingredients together.
- Add Thai basil leaves and dried Thai chili. Turn the stove off and stir everything together.
- Serve with a sprig of Thai basil for garnish and pair with a nice red or white wine.
- 2 links of Pok Pok Thai Northern sausage, slice them into a wheel shape
- 5 cups cooked whole grain spaghetti
- 1 cup of Thai basil leaves
- 1 sliced red bell pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut it about 1 ½- 2 inches
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ tablespoon seasoning soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sweet dark soy sauce
- 2 ½ teaspoon Thai chili paste in oil
- ½ cup of water
- 4-5 dried Thai chili as an option
- Heat olive oil on medium-high and add garlic and sliced Pok Pok Thai Northern sausage and stir-fry for a couple minutes
- Add red bell pepper and yellow onion into the wok and cook until the onion is transparent.
- Add cooked whole grain spaghetti and fish sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, seasoning soy sauce, and Thai chili paste. Stir all the ingredients together.
- Add Thai basil leaves and dried Thai chili. Turn the stove off and stir everything together.
If you like this recipe you may also like some of these pork and noodle recipes.
https://healthythairecipes.com/category/entrees/noodle-recipes/
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