Pork Belly Fried Rice (by G)

I am a man of simple pleasures and getting the opportunity to cook for myself while overseas is one of them. This was my last night in Nongkhai so predictably I went back to the riverside hole-in-the-wall bar for a mid-afternoon drink.  I was on about my 4th beer when Nong (the owner and cook) called out to me 'G, help!'. There was a bit of a rush on food and the two little tables needed clearing - so I did that.

Then I helped prep - okay, I only sliced some spring onions and did a pretty decent job considering I was squatting over and esky. When the rush died down Nong asked if I wanted to eat something. I did. 'Okay, you cook', she said.

We decided a pork belly dish would be good for me so she chopped up some pre-roasted belly while I fried off some garlic and chilli. The pork belly was added and fried, then a ladle of stock and some greens.  Nong took a call at that point so, though it was supposed to be a noodle dish, I added some cooked rice.  I ran into a little trouble at that point because the rice wasn't as dry as I'd assumed and it started to stick a little so I added a bit more oil and persevered.  When Nong returned and saw where I what I was up to she said, 'Oh well, do what ever you want'.  I added some MSG and one of the 4 dark sauces on hand (they all tasted very similar and soy like - I went with the mushroom sauce).

At the last minute I added some mung bean shoots and little slices of bean then plated and topped with some crunchies - crushed peanuts and (I think) fried onion and garlic).

Nong and her son tried a little bit and concluded it was 'Okay' and 'Spicy'.  Personally I thought it was okay, far from the worst thing I've ever cooked. 'Undeniably Edible' is perhaps the phrase I will use.

I was a bit stingy with portions so afterwards I finished a bowl of a sour chicken soup. Nong also brought some pork balls (delicious) and boiled cow sphincter (less delicious) for us to graze on.

At about 6pm it was time to close down the kitchen. I helped clean the tables and pack them and the umbrellas away. Then Nong got started on a MOUNTAIN of washing up. She insisted I sit and drink but I couldn't leave her to tackle the washing alone so off came the shoes, pants were rolled up and I rinsed and stacked the dishes.  It is probably one of the most unpleasant things I've done, the tiles were slick with oil and as slippery as ice.  For my day's labours I was paid 10 baht (37 cents) which was far outweighed by my expenditures on beer.