Smoke-and-fire cookery is hot in the London restaurant scene in 2019 and at Kiln they take it to the next level. The menu pays homage to the bold, fiery dishes founder Mr Ben Chapman tasted on a research trip to northern Thailand and there’s no electricity or gas in sight. Instead, the food – smoky lamb and cumin skewers, thick, sour turbot curry laced with turmeric – is cooked in clay pots or clattering iron woks over smouldering charcoal fires.

When asked to describe the food, head chef Mr Meedu Saad, who took on the role earlier this year, says, “The word challenging springs to mind.” Indeed, delving into the thick, spice-laden clay pot noodle broths and fragrant Burmese curries is something of an assault on the senses. But the experience, as Mr Saad says, always ends up being, “thought provoking and, above all else, nourishing”.

Mr Saad and the Kiln team make regular trips to Thailand, cooking in people’s homes and travelling through the Isaan region. They develop dishes for Kiln that combine these traditional techniques with day-boat British fish and house-butchered meat. “We’re lucky to work with such talented growers and farmers,” says Mr Saad.

The restaurant’s philosophy is writ large in a popular glass noodle dish with brown crab and Tamworth pork belly, heady with pungent fish sauce and soy. “This is a very interesting dish,” says Mr Saad. “What’s fascinating about northern Thailand is the crossover between food cultures. This is essentially a Chinese dish, but you could eat it on the streets of Bangkok. At Kiln, we adapted it by using British produce. The pork, for example, was reared by Fred Price. He’s a Somerset farmer with a progressive approach and it’s incredibly good quality.”

Said pork is simmered with brown crab, glass noodles and a simple mixture of seasonings, which results in a flavour that’s “soul food. It’s comforting, sweet, salty and umami,” says Mr Saad. When it comes to recreating it at home, he suggests New Loon Moon supermarket in London for glass noodles and for the crab, Billingsgate Market, if you’re up early. “Alternatively, look for hand-picked Cornish crab in your local fishmonger,” he says.

Although most home kitchens are unlikely to have charcoal grills like those at Kiln, Mr Saad says it is possible to emulate the flavours using a conventional hob. Or, go one better and start cooking it on the barbecue and finish in the oven. Mr Saad says you should be able to find a clay pot in any good Chinese supermarket. This will help cook the pork perfectly. “It should be sliced thinly and placed on the base of the clay pot, so it renders and becomes caramelised,” he says.

Mr Saad suggests serving a dry riesling alongside. “We have a sparkling sekt from Mosel, which works,” he says. “Or, for the true Yaowarat Road experience, drink a cold beer with ice.”

• 2 thin slices fatty pork belly
• 30g fresh brown crab meat
• A handful of glass noodles
• A small handful of garlic chives

For the dressing:

• 150ml chicken stock
• ½ tbsp light Thai soy sauce
• ½ tbsp dark Chinese soy sauce
• ½ tbsp fish sauce
• ½ tbsp sesame seed oil 

Place the slices of fatty pork belly in the pot and add the crab.

Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing and add to the pot.

Add the noodles and garlic chives, then simmer over a medium heat for 9 minutes until pork is cooked through, or start on the barbecue for a few minutes then finish off in the oven. Serve.