On Board in 20: Thai Nachos with Crispy Pork
Author: 
Recipe type: Main Meal
 
Ingredients
  • 7 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons fish sauce, divided
  • 2 limes
  • 500 grams ground pork
  • 10 flour tortillas (10 inch size)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (for drizzling)
  • ¾ cup tahini
  • 1 ½ cups mozzarella, grated
  • 2 large carrots
  • ¼ red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 small bunch cilantro
  • ½ cup bean sprouts
  • Garnish: red chilles and limes
Instructions
  1. Preheat a heavy cast iron pan over high heat and preheat broiler with rack in the top third position. Prepare two baking sheets with sheets of parchment.
  2. In a medium size bowl, add 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce and the juice of half a lime. Add the ground pork to the same bowl and combine with your hands until the soy mixture and pork are well combined. Put ground pork into the hot cast iron and press down firmly. The pork will need about 8 minutes total. At about the four minute mark, scrape the pork from the bottom of the pan. Try not to stir too often to ensure a flavourful, crispy crust.
  3. Place the ten tortillas in a stack on a cutting board. Cutting through all ten at once, make four cuts, giving you 8 triangles per tortilla for a total of 80 chips. Scatter the chips evenly over the two sheets, overlapping as little as possible. Drizzle with olive oil and place in oven under broiler. THE CHIPS WILL BURN QUICKLY. Start the timer or just watch them; about three minutes per side is all they need. Remove from oven, keeping them on the sheet pans.
  4. Make the sauce: Combine the tahini with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, and the juice from the other half of the lime. Combine well with a fork and add a little water if the sauce is too thick. You want to be able to drizzle it over the chips and have some remaining for dipping.
  5. Prepare the toppings: Using the same grater, grate the cheese first, then grate the 2 large carrots. Set aside. Thinly slice some red onion, and roughly chop the green onion, both the green and white parts. Using scissors, cut the leaves off a small bunch of cilantro. Lightly rinse the bean sprouts.
  6. To assemble: Take one of the sheets of toasted tortilla chips and add sprinkle with half of the cheese, pork, red and green onion and carrot. Add the second sheet pan of tortillas and top with remaining cheese, pork, onions and carrots. Put the sheet pan back under broiler for about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven and top with bean sprouts and cilantro.
  7. To serve: slide the parchment off the sheet pan onto a board. Garnish with the second lime, quartered, and red chilles.
Notes
From a timing perspective, I find this sequence works best: start the pork, then do the tortillas, then stir the pork, then flip the tortillas, then turn the pork off, then remove the tortillas.

Cut one lime in half and, using a reamer, juice one half directly into the pork and one half directly into the sauce.

Basil and mint are two other fresh herbs that could be added or used in place of the cilantro.
Recipe by Food Bloggers of Canada at https://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/on-board-in-20-thai-nachos-with-crispy-pork/